The Dragon and the Phoenix
by WisdomPearl
Summary: When three princes visit Prince Karma for his birthday and intend on staying there for the next year, Karma becomes curious about Prince Nagisa, who's look lured Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom like a rose lures humans with their sweet scent, only uncover secrets that are best left in the dark. Medieval AU. Karmagisa. Don't like, don't read. Some characters are OOC.
1. The Dragon Meeting the Phoenix

{ Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom }

"Must I have to?" whined Prince Nagisa,"Isn't Prince Karma a ruthless killer? He'll probably kill me on the spot since I look so weak,"

"As the Prince of the Dragon you are required to visit the kingdom of the Phoenix. It's his birthday today," Nagisa's assistant, Sugino, tried to reason with the blue-haired royalty.

"Why? Can't the kid celebrate his own birthday rather than bother me with this duty that I'm ordered to fulfill?"

"Once a prince from one of the four kingdom turns fourteen, the other three younger princes must visit the older other prince and stay there for a year. It's a tradition passed down from generation to generation. It was the reason-"

"The reason the Dragons and Phoenixes didn't go into war after Queen Hiromi was deathly poisoned. I was there, and I don't think too many generations passed the tradition,"

"...right, but you know what I mean, your highness," Sugino bowed and proceeded to hand the prince his bag. Nagisa took the bag and headed for the large castle doors. He stopped to look back at Sugino, who was walking towards the kitchen to check on the cooks. The Dragon Prince looked back to the huge spruce doors that laid in front of him. They were planks of woods and he was a prince capable of killing thousands without a second thought. But why was he so hesitant to approach them? If anything, the doors should be so afraid, that they would crumble into ash.

But they didn't. Instead, they stood tall and proud, and in the prince's way. Slowly, Nagisa pushed the door open. A small breeze hit him as soon as the door gave in and opened with a creak, but it was so cold that Nagisa flinched. Damn kid, had to be born in the middle of winter, did he? Well, there's nothing he can do about it, so he proceeded to walk through and resist the cold.

In the distance, the huge castle seemed to get smaller and smaller with every step he took. After about a half an hour, he looked back at the castle. It was about the size of his little finger, and that made him determined. Why?

Because there's only one way to go now, and that's towards the Phoenix kingdom.

{ Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom }

"Are you sure that it's wise to let the prince walk through this snowstorm?"

"The servants who went to pick up Prince Nagisa came back with the carriage stating that Prince Nagisa refused the carriage and would rather walk," Karma's assistant, Nakamura, stated loud and clearly to the red-haired prince.

Prince Karma only stared out through the window, wondering how anyone could get through that type of storm. Nakamura raised an eyebrow slightly, before asking the prince, "Pardon the question, my young prince, but are becoming soft for him?"

"What?! What would make you think that?"

"Ever since we've mentioned Prince Nagisa coming to visit you for a year as a new tradition, you've been getting as red as your hair, my prince,"

"I have?"

Karma looked back to the window, looking for nothing in particular, except for a blue-haired prince trudging through the snow,"Will he think that I'm cruel for not getting him a carriage to ride in this storm?"

"Well he refused it for a reason, a reason we have yet to discover. If he does get mad or disappointed, you could remind him that he turned the carriage away," Karma nodded in relief, still scanning the perimeter of the castle through his chamber window.

"Nakamura,"

"Yes, my young prince?"

"Why is it that we are called the Phoenixes and they are called the Dragons?"

"Ancient Asian culture. I believe it's a Chinese belief, that Phoenixes and Dragons, who are auspicious characters, live in peace and harmony, much like the expectations of our kingdoms,"

"Interesting. Go get someone to gather some books on that topic from any library. Only two or three should be fine,"

"Yes, my prince,"

Karma continued to stare at the window, hoping for a trace of life in this white storm.

Then, as if magic, Karma saw someone with sky blue hair walking towards the castle. Gears shifted in the prince's mind and he screamed, "Prince Nagisa is here! Maehara, Isogai! Open the doors!"

The two servants pulled the doors open, welcoming the prince into the castle. Karma walked down the stair to greet his guest, whom he'd have for the next year. The slam of the heavy spruce doors signaled that his guest was inside the castle and waiting for Karma's to greet himself.

He watched as the prince brush the snow off of his navy and gold cloak and blue hair. Karma stared at the figure in surprise.

He was expecting a fearsome prince, who was rumored to have killed thousands. But instead, he got a tiny, slender, and pale boy who seemed like more of a princess than a prince due to his pigtails. His bangs obscured his eyes as the prince looked down to brush the snow off of his pants.

As he looked up to face Prince Karma, he was greeted by azure eyes with a deathly glow that nearly suffocated Karma and it sent shivers up his spine, "Hello, Prince Karma Akabane,"

"J-Just Karma's fine...,"

How could describe the eyes? Without them, the prince looked like nothing more than a small village boy who barely ate anything and was pale. But with those eyes, well, they released a snake from within to suffocate the prey.

Like the snake kills the bird. And a Phoenix is a bird.

Nagisa cleared his throat, "I am Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom, however it pleases me to just be called Nagisa. It's a pleasure to be here and to be your guest for the year to come,"

His honey-like voice echoed throughout the castle. _Live in peace and harmony like the Chinese culture states? Hah, more like live in fear and terror. Are the rumors true? Had this little prince killed thousands?_

"Master,"

"Yes, Nakamura?"

"Y-You're supposed to show the prince around the castle...,"

"Right,"

Karma cleared his throat, "It's a pleasure to meet you here as well, and I'll be looking forward to your stay. I hope you are doing well, being that you walked through a harsh snowstorm such as this,"

"I'm alright, but thank you for your concern for my health, Pr-I mean, Karma,"

"I will now show you around the place you'll be staying in for the following year. And I must thank you for coming on my birthday,"

"There's no problem, it was nothing,"

Karma raised an eyebrow. Quickly realizing that he had used improper communication, Nagisa corrected himself, "You're most certainly welcome, Karma,"

Karma lowered his eyebrow. _So he uses improper communication too. I would tell him that I do the same, but with the servants around, I can't have them realizing that, lest that carries on to my etiquette teacher. Oh, how mad she'd get, and I don't want an old hag swinging a rolling pin at me._

The Phoenix Prince led the Dragon Prince around the castle, pointing out the kitchen, the dining hall, the bedrooms, everywhere Karma could think of. Then, Nagisa mustered up courage to ask about the other other princes, "Are the other princes here yet?"

"No, we are waiting for their arrival. Since you are closer to my kingdom than the others, it's only natural that you have arrived earlier,"

"Of course, yes,"

Karma pointed outside, "That's the private royal garden. No servants, just royalty, are allowed to enter the garden. Would you like to have a look?"

"Yes, that would be nice,"

Karma opened the door and led the Dragon Prince into a secluded area. There wasn't snow, since there was a roof over it. A series of small holes that littered the stone wall gave the plants light. But what interested Prince Nagisa the most was the abundance of flowers.

He didn't know what flowers they were, but he knew that there were flowers shorter than his ankle height all the way to flowers reaching his shoulders. The colors were extravagant, painting the garden green, red, blue, pink, all sorts of colors. Nagisa bent down to touch one of the shorter flowers. He took off his white glove on his right hand and caressed the flower petals. Karma gazed at Nagisa.

How could one's skin look so pure, as if angels had blessed it? The pale skin contrasted the dark cloak he was still wearing. Karma forgot for a minute about the rumors about this prince killing many. How could someone this pure be a ruthless killer?

"I've been fascinated by flowers,"

"How come?"

The small prince smiled warmly up at the prince, "See those roses?"

Karma looked in the direction of Nagisa's finger, which was pointing towards a rose bush littered with thousands of roses, "Yes,"

"They look beautiful, almost pure. The vibrant red color pierces the soul of anyone and shares their beauty around," Nagisa picked a rose from the bush and examined it in front of Karma, "But if you let your guard down and let the dazzling beauty pull you in, let it suffocate you in its glory,"

Nagisa was gone in an instant. _Where is he? I could've sworn-_ Karma felt a cold metal object press against his throat lightly, careful not to draw blood or harm the prince in any way. Nagisa's smooth voice rung in Karma's ear, "If you let your guard down, it'll attack. It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thoughts,"

Nagisa released the dagger from Karma's neck and let the shocked prince collect himself. _How...how did he...get from there, to there? In just a fraction of a second?_

 _ **It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thoughts.**_

Nagisa propped the door opened, "You coming?"

Karma snapped back to reality, "Yeah, just, just give me a moment to gather myself, if you don't mind,"

 _I'll have to watch him. If I get on his bad side, he might kill me in my sleep, and I certainly don't want my life to be taken yet. I guess this is what they mean when you are more likely to die on your birthday. I can't let my guard down if he gets mad. It's too risky._

Karma staggered towards Nagisa, who was propping the door open for him, "Are you well, Karma?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, thank you,"

Nagisa stretched his arms and yawned, "Could you show me to my bedroom? I'm afraid walking through the storm like that has worn down my energy and bl- nevermind that last part,"

"Secrets now? Don't worry, what happens in the Phoenix Castle, stays in the Phoenix Castle,"

"I thank you for your kindness, but I'd rather this secret stay in Dragon Kingdom,"

Karma's nodded and led the Prince of the Dragon Kingdom to his room. Nagisa slumped onto the bed and was sound asleep. He hadn't bothered to take the cloak off. Karma thought, _The fire is especially hot in this room. The poor prince will burn up in that cloak. Maybe I'll take it off and set it beside him._

Karma glided over to the slumbering prince, gazing at his closed eyes. Long lashes like that of a small child. Karma smiled warmly, but then caught himself. He was here to take care of Nagisa, since he hadn't brought his assistant, it was Karma's duty it take care of his guests.

As he slid the cloak off to reveal Nagisa's outfit, well, let's just say that the small body wasn't the thing that concerned Karma.

It was the consistent jingling of metal hitting each other. As Karma curiously inspected the cloak, he saw something that would disturb him for a while.

They say curiosity kills the cat. Well, now it mentally scarred the Phoenix.

They were daggers of all sizes, knives, swords, all so cleverly hidden.

—

 **BOOM.**

 **CLIFFHANGER (SORTA)**

 **I HAD FUN WRITING THIS CHAPTER, AND I'M GOING TO DO SOME FIRST PERSON POV FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER ON. THIS CHAPTER WAS WHAT I CALL THE EXPOSITION, WHERE SOME CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED AND THE SETTING AND TIME AND BLAH BLAH BLAH, SO THERE WASN'T REALLY A GOOD PLACE TO FIT IN THE POV. ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER AND PLEASE REVIEW IT BECAUSE IT REALLY MOTIVATES ME TO WRITE MORE AND MORE!**

 **~WIS**


	2. The Stallion Meets the Phoenix

Karma dropped the cloak in horror. He really hoped that they were there for self-defense and not for killing him. The Phoenix Prince slowly exited the room.

"Master,"

Karma jumped and whirled around, only to see a slightly frightened Nakamura, "S-S-Sir...the Stallion Prince has arrived,"

"Oh, really? It's about time anyways. I'll go see to him,"

A dark-haired servant approached Karma, "M-Master...,"

"Yes Okuda?"

"Wh-Where do you want the books?"

"Oh, I forgot about those. Place them in my personal study. I trust that Nakamura will unlock the door for you and watch that you don't do anything there except place the books on my desk,"

"Yes, my young prince," The two servants answered in unison, Okuda seeming a bit shakier than the bolder Nakamura.

Karma walked down the stairs and looked at the Stallion Prince. He was delivered in a carriage that he so greedily took, "Prince Gakushū Asano of the Stallion Kingdom, welcome to my castle,"

Prince Gakushū bowed, "Asano is fine. Where's my damn bedroom? I'm tired,"

"Language now. I'll take you to your room. Are you sure you don't want a tour of the castle?"

"No thanks. I'd rather sleep. Couldn't sleep with your ghastly footman humming off tune, so I'm naturally tired," Asano looked around, "I smell another prince's scent, and the atmosphere feels cold, as if the door had been opened before I arrived. I can't smell a certain scent, which means that the prince has been disguising his scent for some reason. Prince Chiba would do such a thing, so I'm guessing that Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom has already arrived? Based on the data I've collected from this section alone and the fact that the Dragon Kingdom and the Phoenix Kingdom are closer than the other two, that's the most reasonable guess,"

"Honestly, your mouth contains more spit than the oceans have water. If you wanted to know if Prince Nagisa was here or not, you could've asked at least. Save some time. And I thought you were tired?"

"I'll be tired whenever you want, my prince. You are the eldest of the four princes,"

"Saying that makes us sound like a family, ack. Well, you will rest Prince Asano, don't worry. I'll put you in a room close to Prince Nagisa's,"

Asano's violet eyes wavered towards the staircase. Karma looked back, seeing nothing except for the family portrait. Asano, with a sweet voice, said, "My mother used to tell me how much she loved the mystery of your family, how roses hide thorns,"

 _There it was again. The roses._

 _ **It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thoughts.**_

Karma snapped back to reality, "Well, they're gone now. Come, I'll lead you to your room,"

"About time,"

As soon as Karma told Asano that the room diagonal to Nagisa's would be his, he opened the door and flopped onto the bed. He rolled over to his back and sighed in relief, "Man, you guys know how to get quality mattresses!"

"I'd be ever so much obliged if you'd use proper communication for the rest of the year,"

"Oh, right, sorry, my prince. I guess I got too carried away. My bad,"

Karma was expecting sarcasm to drip from his words, but they sounded sincere, like he really was sorry. So Karma smiled slightly and nodded, closing the door to let the prince sleep.

Karma returned to his chambers, which were next to Nagisa's. They actually weren't chambers, he just liked to say chambers because it sounded special. It was actually just another room in the castle, like Nagisa's, Asano's, and Chiba's. All the same. Karma looked out the window.

The snowstorm seemed to die down a bit, leaving only harsh flurries that painted the sky with clouds and blanketed the ground with snow. It was 5:40 in the evening, from the looks of it. At least that was what Miss Hayami said.

Miss Hayami was a pretty young lady who wanted to work for Prince Karma as a servant, so he accepted and made her another tutor he had. But on the contrary to his other servants, Miss Hayami offered comfort, care, and life advice. He'd go to her for advice and tips, anything useful for the future. She taught Karma how to tell time just by looking at the position of the sun. She and Nakamura were the only servants he had that he could openly talk to and express his feelings.

Karma looked down at the ground, searching for the carriage he had sent for Chiba. Meanwhile, his mind wandered elsewhere.

Why did Prince Nagisa have those weapons? What's with the rose thing and Nagisa? Should he even feel safe around the Dragon Prince? But most importantly.

 _Why Nagisa?_

Why was Karma so immersed in Nagisa's life? It felt like he needed him, wanted to be with him, wanted to protect him. But why Nagisa? Why was he such an interesting character? And then something shook Karma.

This was what the Dragon Prince was referring to. Nagisa was the rose that attracted Karma. Pulling him in with whatever he could use to lure, attack, and kill. That was what Prince Nagisa was referring to.

Was it a warning? Was it? Karma's head circled with so many questions without answers. More and more hit him like an arrow shot directly for his head.

"Master!" Nakamura's yell alerted Karma. He stood up and faced his trembling servant, "Yes?"

"You, you look pale. Shall I call for Miss Hayami?"

(Karma POV)

Ah right, I forgot to mention that Miss Hayami was also the castle medic.

"Sure, sure," Not that I needed the medical attention, but I needed advice. Prince Chiba doesn't look like he'll be coming for a while, so I might as well use that time to do something else.

A small knock rang through the door, "Master?" Miss Hayami's voice sounded through the door, "It's Miss Hayami,"

"Come in,"

A young woman with sunset colored hair and winged eyes entered the room and close door the door behind her, "I was alerted by Nakamura that you sent for me because you were pale,"

"That and advice,"

"I see. Well I'm here for you," Miss Hayami touched the back of her hand against my forehead, "No fever,"

"Actually I'm not sick,"

"Then why are you pale?"

I explained the whole thing to her, from the refusal of the carriage to finding real weapons hidden in Nagisa's cloak. Miss Hayami only nodded understandingly.

"I see how the young master might be frightened to the point of going pale, but I don't see how the young prince is frightened of the Dragon Prince,"

"Pardon?"

"While the deathly glowing eyes, garden event, and weapon revealing does point directly towards Prince Nagisa being a killer, there are other reasons that don't. Like the carriage. The driver is exposed to the cold, and with such a storm out there at that time, the driver would've frozen to death. So he sent the carriage away to save the driver's life. With the roses, he taught you an important lesson. You think he goes around to the village children saying thing like that? He seems like he only shares those to people who are worthy of the advice,"

"Hm, I see your point, but what about the daggers? I've heard about recent murders close to the Dragon Kingdom,"

"None of the weapons had blood on them, did they?"

"No...,"

"Exactly. And if he was responsible for those murders, the victims deserved it. They were notorious criminals that terrorized all four kingdoms. Prince Nagisa has been tracking them down ever since his mother died. Now piece the pieces together,"

It didn't take long for me to realize what Miss Hayami was getting at, "So, you're saying that those notorious criminals are responsible for the death of Queen Hiromi?"

"Yes,"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?!"

"It's useless now. They are killed. The punishment has been carried out,"

"Then what about the war?!"

"It never started, remember? The rule was placed, bringing all four princes together. That's what was supposed to happen. That's the new tradition,"

I scratched my head and thought about what Miss Hayami had just said, piecing the pieces together like she said to do. If it weren't for those criminals poisoning Queen Hiromi, the war wouldn't have been considered. Nagisa wouldn't have killed the criminals and the rule wouldn't have been placed.

I nodded slowly, "I see what you're getting at now. You may leave now,"

Miss Hayami bowed and exited the room. I resumed to looking out of the window, squinting when I thought I saw Prince Chiba coming, but then relaxing my face when I realized that it was a tree branch or something.

"Master!"

"Yes, Nakamura?"

"Prince Chiba is here,"

—

 **SORRY TO LEAVE IT AT A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT BUT I NEED TO BRAINSTORM SOME SORT OF ANIMAL TO PUT ON PRINCE CHIBA'S NAME. NO NEED TO REVIEW AND TELL ME, I'LL THINK OF ONE MYSELF. BUT MEANWHILE, ENJOY THE REST OF THE SERIES AS I KEEP FURIOUSLY TAPPING.**

 **I'M DOING THIS ON MY IPAD BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER AT THE MOMENT, BUT I WILL SOON. AND SINCE I TYPE FASTER ON MY COMPUTER, ILL BE PUBLISHING NEW CHAPTERS AT A FASTER RATE.**

 **YOUR TAPPING AUTHOR,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	3. The Nymph Confuses the Phoenix

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO THE BOOKS IN THIS CHAPTER ABOUT DRAGONS AND PHOENIXES ARE NOT FROM SNY ACTUAL BOOK, JUST DATA I HAVE COLLECTED FROM THE INTERNET AND MY PERSONAL INFORMATION.**

—

(Third Person POV)

"Oh? He's here already?" Nakamura nodded madly, "He's in the castle now,"

"Already?" Karma hadn't heard the door open. Perhaps he was so caught up in Miss Hayami's words. Gah! Another rose?! How many roses would come to pull him in with their ways?

Karma made his way down the stairs for the third and last time, greeting the prince, "Greetings, Prince Chiba Ryūnosuke of the Nymph Kingdom. I trust that the driver handled you well? I was beginning to worry that you'd gotten lost, the driver being a new servant and all. The other princes have already arrived and settled in and it was beginning to get late, so I'm glad you made it safely!"

Prince Chiba only looked around the castle, "Big castle you have, my prince,"

Karma held his breath. He was concerned for his safety and the Nymph Prince just comments on the size of the castle?! Whatever, it was a compliment anyways, "Yes...thank you...,"

"Would you kindly show me around your castle? I'd like to know about the place that I'll be living it for the next year,"

Karma looked surprised, but he kept his cool, "Uh, yes, I will. Follow me,"

Karma walked around, pointing out the kitchen, dining room, training ground, all the things he showed Nagisa. But he hesitated to open the spruce door that led to the secret, royalty-only garden. Prince Chiba glanced at the redhead, trying to find out why the mighty Phoenix Prince was hesitating over a measly door. He looked through his jet black bangs that obscured his eyes and asked the trembling prince, "Prince Karma? Are you alright?"

Karma snapped his head to face the Prince of the Nymph Kingdom, scaring the black-haired boy, "Just Karma is fine with me, I don't care. And yes, I'm alright, thank you for your concern,"

Prince Chiba nodded, "Are you, going to open the door?"

"Yes," Was the Nymph Prince's immediate answer as the redhead pushed the door open. Prince Chiba entered first and then Karma's followed, closing the door behind them. Chiba took off his navy blue glove to examine a tulip that hasn't opened up yet, "Prince Karma, you're just like this tulip,"

"May I inquire, how that tulip is like me?"

Prince Chiba looked back at the tulip, caressing the bud, "You're still young, like the rest of us. You still haven't grown to your full potential, but you claim that you have. You're vibrant red hair also matches the dazzling color of this tulip," Prince China pointed and looked towards the rose bush, "And the color of those red roses match your hair color as well,"

The roses again? Karma didn't like where this was going, but he didn't want to look suspicious of him so he played along, "About the roses, why do you point at them? Nagisa did the same when I led him into this very garden as well,"

"Oh? You've learned the golden rule of the Dragon Kingdom? I trust that Asano didn't want a tour?"

"You've read my mind,"

"The Golden Rule of the Dragon. Only known with the remark, 'Under special circumstances, if you break this rule, you'll end up dead on sight,'. Seen only as a normal 'break the rule and you pay the price', but it's much more sinister than that. It doesn't have a straightforward rule or sentence. It's just as it is, and it's been that way for centuries. You've heard of the rumors spreading like wildfire about Prince Nagisa the Dragon Prince killing thousands? They also say that the victims have only one thing in common: they broke the Golden Rule of the Dragon,"

Another question entered the question pool about Nagisa: Who was he really? Chiba was giving him so many hints but it confused him at the same time.

Chiba continued with his lecture to the prince, "There's also a Golden Rule of the Nymphs, the Stallions, and the Phoenix, but none as sinister as the Dragon's. The Golden Rules can be changed by the prince or princess and the prince or princess only. Once the prince or princess becomes the king or queen, the rule stays until they die. Then the heir makes a new rule or keeps the rule. So far, the Dragon Kingdom has kept its Golden Rule the same. The others have changed. I do not know the Golden Rule of the Stallion or Phoenix, but I do know the Dragon and the Nymph. I'm friends with the Dragon Kingdom, so naturally, I know their rule,"

"What is the Golden Rule of the Nymph?"

The bangs covered his eyes it Karma knew somehow that his eyes turned from normal to sincere, "Never turn your back on everything, or else you'll experience tragic experiences. If I may ask, Prince Karma, what is your Rule? I've heard that your parents have been deceased for a while, but I never heard about you declaring a new Golden Rule. Do you intend on keeping that rule given by your father, King Akabane?"

Karma winced at his father's name, clearly remembering his parents' deaths, "The rule in place now is, 'Never trust someone you're suspicious of, unless you want your fate to end in betrayal,'. I personally think that this Rule is pathetic, useless, cheesy, and overall, false. I will change it, however, I cannot think of anything suitable for the next lifetime, so I will declare a new Rule later, perhaps ponder over the topic after this year has passed,"

"Very well then, but remember,"

"Remember what?"

"Nicht jede Erfahrung geht den Weg, wie Sie wollen. Wie Mord. Pass auf, junger Prinz," (German-English peeps, review down below if you're at least part German and tell me if I got it right becuase I don't know if I did thnx)

German? Prince Chiba can speak German?

"I'm afraid I don't speak German nor do I understand the language,"

"Ah, it's fine,"

Prince Chiba exited the room, leaving Karma to sit in the garden and think.

 _What with this garden? It seems as if I'm the mouse and they're the lion in this garden, and it's only a garden!_

The Phoenix Prince shook the thought out of his head and left, seeing Chiba waiting patiently for Karma to escort him to his room. Karma, on instinct, silently led Chiba to the room across from Nagisa's and next to Prince Asano's. Karma leaned against the wall beside Prince Chiba's door, sliding down weakly and sitting on the floor, holding his head with his hands.

 _What is going on with people? First of all, Nagisa pressed a dagger lightly on my throat and has too many secrets under that cute face. Then Asano feels like he can't decide between being tired and not being tired but he looks like he's acting to hide something. And then Chiba started explaining Golden Rules and said something in German to me. Since he knows that I don't understand German, he must be hiding something in that one conversation. Why is everyone hiding things from me? Why me?_ Many thoughts and theories spun in Karma's head, before he decided to go to his tpstudy and think about things there rather than on the floor next to the door of one of his guests.

As he made his way to his study, a female servant, Hinano, could be heard next to him, "Um, Master?"

"Yes?"

"Th-There isn't enough meat for tomorrow...,"

"I see. We haven't gone shopping in a while, so I expected this was going to happen. None of the princes have any allergies that I know of or any tradition or religion that refrains them from consuming certain foods, so...go get Hara to shop for some meat,"

"Yes sir! Right away sir!"

Hinano ran towards the kitchen, since Hara was the head royal chef of the Phoenix Castle. Karma smiled at Hinano's energetic personality and continued heading towards his study.

As he entered through the dark chocolate brown and gold handled door, he sat down on his wooden oak chair. He glanced at the room, observing it and comparing it to last year.

It hasn't changed at all from last year except for a couple of books he had bought since he had read all of his previous books at least ninety times and it had gotten tedious. The small bookcases that we're littered along the side of the study wall had about thirty or so books, and Karma had gotten tired of them. The floor had a large brown bear rug that took ages to skin and clean since it was his first time, but Karma had managed successfully. The walls were the normal stone grey, just like the rest of the castle and rooms. He had a birch desk that was carved by his father, one of the last things he'd given the redheaded prince before he died. Karma ran his finger along the side of the carved in flowers.

Roses and tulips.

 ** _It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thoughts._**

 _It doesn't have a straightforward rule or sentence._

What is "it"? What is this "it" that Nagisa and Prince Chiba talk about?

Karma's hand brushed against a pile of books that sat on his desk as he ran his fingers alongside the edge of his birch desk, "Oh, I forgot about those,"

Karma picked up the top book. It looked like it was newly dusted, probably on Nakamura's order. The title read, Auspicious Chinese Animals . Karma opened the book and flipped to dragons, since it was first alphabetically.

"The Chinese Dragon is a mythical creature, a combination of animals the Chinese knew, recognized, and/or worshipped. They decided to combine them to make one powerful creature. The Chinese Dragon consists of scales from the koi, paws of the tiger, body of the Shen Monster, horns of the stag, eyes of the rabbit, ears of the bull, head of the camel, claws of the eagle, and neck of the snake," Karma read, "Snake?"

That explained why Prince Nagisa's name sounded like a snake's name, and why he was so quick, stealthy, and deadly. Karma shook the cold feeling of the knife being pressed to his throat and flipped to Phoenix.

"The Phoenix, a rare and immortal bird, which used to be a hard working bird. During a drought where none of the other birds prepared for a drought, the kind Phoenix shared his juicy berries. Grateful for saving their lives, the birds each donated a feather, making him the Phoenix we all know. The Phoenix is so rare, that's it's rare appearance is said to be an omen foretelling harmony at the acent to the throne of a new emperor,"

Harmony to the new emperor? Or king or prince depending on where you live. There wasn't much in this book about Phoenixes, and he felt like he got enough from dragons. Karma rubbed his lower throat, the cold feeling of the dagger at his throat returning.

 ** _If you let your guard down, it'll attack._**

Nagisa's smooth voice, smoother than the freshest river of honey, echoed in Karma's mind.

 ** _It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thought._**

"AGHHH!" Karma tried as hard as he could to quiet his frustrated scream into his hands, but a certain servant was walking past his door. He opened the door to see a frustrated Karma, "S-S-Sir?"

Karma looked up, and seeing that it was one of his servants, he straightened up, "Oh, Mimura, it's just you. What is it?"

"Uh-uh, I-I heard a scream from in-inside the r-room and I was g-g-going t-to ch-check on y-you...,"

"Oh, sorry, did I worry you?"

"N-N-No, I mean, uh, yes! But, i-if y-you don't w-want me to b-be worried about y-you...,"

"Stop stammering. I can barely make out what you're staying,"

"Uh-uh...,"

Karma stood up and walked towards the shivering servant. Thinking that he was going to be punished, Mimura flinched, only to realize that Prince Karma wasn't beating him or reprimanding him, but hugging him for comfort. That made Mimura stop shaking and even his voice out, "Sir...,"

"I can't have one of my servants shaking like that. It'll give the others the wrong impression of me. Besides, why so worried? Sure, I have a dungeon, but I'd never send a servant down ther for some petty little thing," Karma inspected the servant, who was agreeing with every word Karma said, "Oh, I recognize you! You were one of the servants around the time when my father was alive. My father jailed servants when they did so much as stutter, but I vowed never to be like him. Never," Prince Karma lightly and playfully punched the side of Mimura's arm, "So stop worrying! The only person you need to worry about is Prince Gakushū Asano, But the worst he can do is insult you, so you're fine,"

Mimura nodded furiously and continued walking down the hall. Karma watched the blonde walk down the hall to prepare warm towels for the princes when they woke up. Karma returned to his desk to read the other book on Phoenixes.

It was now 11:25, according to the position of the moon, and Karma had read the books all through, finding interesting information. Not wanting the bother any servants, since they may be tired and some may still be on duty, Karma took the three books and walked towards the West Library, where Okuda had said that she'd gotten the books from. They were light books, not too heavy, but not too light, so Karma could run down the hall silently to speed up the time.

As he reached the spruce doors, he flinched at the loud sound of the wood creaking against the hinges. He heard a rustle and small footsteps, which faded away quickly.

(Karma POV)

What the hell was that?! Is it an intruder? I quickly followed the shuffles of feet as quietly as possible, but the person kept getting out of my reach. Our slow paces turned to quick strides which shifted to panicked runs. The person gasped each time I got closer, turning their head, but making sure I didn't see their face. They had a long cloak with a hood so it made it harder for me to see their face or what they looked like. They kept taking sharp turns around the aisles, trying to lose me, but I wouldn't. I had to know who was inside of my library, and what they were doing here. It felt as if they got faster with each step they took. Either that or I'm starting to slow down.

The person disappeared behind an aisle of history books I had read before. I smirked. That was a dead end, I caught you now, mystery person. I rounded the corner, but I didn't hear the footsteps anymore. I looked all over the dead end, but there was no sign of life. I could've sworn someone vanished here—

That aura. A viper, curled around my neck, really to strike me from behind.

I couldn't react fast enough. A soft, delicate hand was placed over my eyes and a dagger was pointed at my neck. I fell backwards, towards my attacker. But they wrapped their legs around me, refusing to let me move.

Nagisa.

—

 **MAN, I'M JUST ON A ROLL WITH THESE CLIFFHANGERS! I HOPED YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER!**

 **YOUR CLIFFHANGER BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	4. The Dragon Teaches the Phoenix

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN DOING MUCH KARMAGISA BECUASE I HAD TO INTRODUCE SOME CHARACTERS FIRST AND PUT A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SET THE PLOT SO HERES THE KARMAGISA YOU WANTED! ENJOY!**

(Nagisa POV)

It was too easy. Too tempting. Such a treat, who could pass it up? Not me.

As Karma whipped around trying to find the hooded person, he surprisingly didn't realize that I was behind him until it was too late. And this was the one everyone feared? Hah, feared my ass! Put him in the ideal condition and he's gotten a free ticket to heaven. After pleasing myself with the sight of Karma frantically searching for a little old me, I took the job of pinning him down to make him realize what he was up against.

"Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, Prince Karma Akabane," I whispered in his ear. It was still before midnight, so it wasn't too late, "I have a present for you,"

I shifted the dagger down, still pressing the tip lightly against his muscular chest, "It's a bit of advice. Not much, but it'll do you good in the future,"

"A-A-And th-that would be...?"

I chuckled at his pleading tone, "Aren't you a greedy one? Well, take it as a gift exchange. I'll give you the advice if you follow one simple order,"

"Wh-Which is?"

God, his voice sounded so sexy and smooth, but I kept my cool, "Don't tell anyone about this. Let them figure it out,"

"And your advice?"

"When in doubt, turn around. 99% of the time, your attacker is there. It's helped me a great deal, and I'm sure it will for you as well," And with that, I released him. He chuckled.

"Hah, you'd think that I'd learn from earlier today where you pinned the same dagger against my throat in the secret garden, and now the West Library where no one else can see us? You must have a thing for secluded areas and daggers,"

I shrugged, "What can I say, it's too tempting to pass up. Besides, private tutoring doesn't sound too bad, especially for a broken person like you,"

"What makes me broken?" His tone shifted from playful to serious, all hints from our earlier playfulness leaving the room.

I scratched my nape, "Hmm, What can I say without breaking you further?"

"It's fine, throw it all at me,"

"Are you sure?"

"More than ever, Nagisa,"

I sighed, looking down with my glowing turquoise eyes, "Let's say, I'm observant. I take mental tabs on people I'm around, and well, your's is by far, the most interesting," I looked up at those beautiful honey colored eyes.

"I know how your parents died. I know why your parents died. I know who killed your parents. I know what kind of life you live. I know all of your servants by heart, name, personality, look, everything. I know your daily schedule. I know who you visit and who visits you. I know who you hate and who you like. And I know who you love,"

I saw the redhead pause, those amber eyes growing wider by the second. I knew this would happen;it's happenes with the others as well. So I continued, not wanting to waste a second, "I would answer some of your questions, but they would break your reality if the world, and I don't want to do that,"

Karma said nothing. After a few minutes, he took my slender hand into his, "Alright. I won't push you," I sat there in shock. Usually they'd run away, or try to push answers out of me. But he was different. Karma was different.

And I liked different.

He crawled on all fours towards me, since we were still on the ground. I leaned back, but he was taller than me, so his head looked over mine in just mere seconds. That amber gaze stared straight into my soul, his smile warm but deathly, like he was planning something and didn't want to tell me. He lowered his head down towards my ear, whispering in a husky tone that felt illegal, "Break me all you want. Just tell me anything, Na-gi-sa~,"

I squirmed as his lightly bit my ear, my face turning crimson similar to the cover of a book I was reading earlier on roses. After nibbling on my ear, he shifted his attention to the bottom of my face.

Well, shit.

(Karma POV)

Nagisa was right about one thing. Some thing are too tempting to pass up. I just wanted him. I wanted Nagisa. I didn't care if he killed people, I just wanted him. If I had to die, I'd rather be killed by Nagisa or killed with Nagisa. I just wanted Nagisa. Nagisa.

Such a sweet name. Nagisa. I wanted every syllable to ring out in joy and pleasure, but I had to take it slow, not like I wanted to hurt Nagisa, such a sugary treat for me.

Just little nibbles at a time.

"Karma...,"

"Hmm?"

"St-Stop...,"

"But I haven't even done anything,"

"But you are going to do something that I won't like!"

"Something you won't like?" I pressed my soft, pink lips against the protesting Nagisa, "So you don't like me kissing you?"

"N-Not exactly...,"

"Oh? So you do~,"

"I-I never said that!"

"You suggested it,"

"Never!"

"Aww,"

I gave him another kiss, another soft one to warm him up to this sensation. I couldn't hold it back, but it was for Nagisa's sake. I just had to stay sane for a few more minu—

"Karma! Wha-What are you thinking about doing to me?!"

Shit, I failed.

I couldn't hold it back, his smooth voice coating each word with that fluffy cuteness that radiated from him, "Open your mouth,"

He did as he was told, which excited me even more. I took that slightly opened mouth and smashed it against my own. Immediately on contact, I shoved my tongue into his mouth. I could tell from his reaction that he wasn't even expecting it.

I swallowed his saliva, tasting the sweetness of what Nagisa was on the inside, his core, the very middle where no one can see unless you put him in an ideal condition. I ran my tongue over his, pulling his smaller tongue into my mouth, letting him have a chance to dominate, even if it was just a little bit.

But as soon as it entered and he started to try and dominate me...

 **1 Hit!**

 **2 Hits!**

 **5 Hits!**

 **10 Hits!**

 _The Kiss of Death!_

 **15 Hits!**

 **20 Hits!**

 **35 Hits!**

 _I feel dizzy..._

 **45 Hits!**

 **55 Hits!**

 **65 Hits!**

 _I-I can't feel my face...crap...Karma, pull yourself together! Come on! You can do it!_

 **75 Hits!**

 **85 Hits!**

 **95 Hits!**

 _I'm...starting to...lose...consciousness..._

 **100 Hits!**

Darkness engulfed me.

(Third Person POV)

Karma's golden eyes looked clouded as they shifted from panicked to unconscious. It was planned, one hundred hits though? Not bad Karma. As the redheaded prince fell face first into the wooden floor, Nagisa stifled a laugh. After shoving the laugh far beneath his throat, he lifted the heavier, taller, and bigger prince onto his back. After bouncing him around so he could comfortably transport the passed out redhead, he set off out of the library and made his way down the maze of hallways.

But Nagisa knew the castle inside out, so he knew exactly where to place Karma. He shifted Karma's weight to the left side, grunting in pain as the prince's head lolled sharply to the side and nearly made them both fall, so Nagisa quickly opened the door with his right hand and retrieved the falling prince before he touched the floor. With a small kick, the door creaked open and the bluenette crept in as quickly and as silently as possible to drop off the heavy load.

After carelessly dumping him onto the bed because what mattered more was the state of his back, he snuck out quietly, shut the door, and made his way to his room. After he was safely confined in his room, he decided sleep was a better option than sit around and wait for something to happen.

{Morning}

Chiba was the first to wake, since he was the one who woke up the earliest out of the four princes. He usually woke up early to tend to his little sister, Setsuko, but now he wasn't with his sister. He was in the Phoenix Castle, far, far away from the Nymph Kingdom. As he got himself dressed for the day (thanks to Karma's abundant supply of good-looking clothing in the closet), he set out, only to be greeted by a brown haired servant, "Oh, hello. What are you here for?"

"My name is Kataoka, sir! I have been appointed by my young master to be your assistant for as long as you'll be here, sir!"

"Oh, thank you...,"

"Pleasure meeting you, sir!"

Prince Chiba and Kataoka shook hands, signaling for their acquaintanceship to start.

Asano was the second to wake, being that he was the first to actually fall asleep since Prince Nagisa wasn't asleep at all. Asano dressed in his clothing, since he was too lazy to open the closet and realize that there was a full closet full of clothes his size. As he set out to raid the kitchen and steal the snacks, a certain, long-haired servant greets him at his door, "Hello, my prince. I'm Kanzaki...,"

"Hello, Kanzaki. Why are you here? I was just going to go get some—"

"I've been appointed by the young prince to be your assistant for as long as you should live here. And did you want some snacks? I'll bring some to you later, but you can have breakfast beforehand. As for the snack, what would you like?"

"What is there?"

"Anything! The young prince makes sure we have every ingredient available at hand to please each and every one of our guests! If not, or we are running low, someone can go buy some as quick as a bee!"

"Hmm, chocolate cake sounds nice...,"

"Okay! I'll make sure your chocolate cake is delivered to you after breakfast!"

"Wait, Kanzaki,"

"Yes?"

"Don't tire yourself out. Relax, act natural. No need to be all quick and snappy about every little task. Just, relax,"

"Oh, okay then!"

Nagisa opened his closet and chose a dark, navy coat with golden buttons. He picked up his own black and gold cloak, completely ignoring the other cloaks hanging up in the closet. He wanted his own cloak;nothing could replace it.

Nagisa opened the door to set out and begin his new life when he saw a white haired boy with a peculiar looking headband wrapped around his head, "Um, who are you...?"

Itona snapped his head up, showing his golden, lined eyes, "Uh, I'm Itona! The Master has appointed me to be your assistant in the Phoenix Castle for as long as you live here. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. Is there anything else you would like me to inform you about or get you?"

"Where's Karma?"

"In his study, reading some books he had picked out from the West Library,"

"When did he wake up?"

"Around 6:25 I believe,"

"What time is it now?"

"9:47,"

Three hours and 22 minutes. Didn't drop by for a hello, or to wake him up. Thinking he was just a busy man, Nagisa shook the thought out of his head. Itona looked at the pale Nagisa, "Sorry to intrude, but are you always pale?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, it's...it's a trait that runs in the family on my father's side. Nothing too serious. No matter how much I spend outside, I'm still as pale as ever,"

"I see,"

Itona glanced outside of the window, "Breakfast is ready, sire"


	5. The Mystery of the Dragon

(Third Person POV)

Nagisa followed Itona even though he knew his way around the castle. But as to not insult the servant, Nagisa slowly followed the white-haired boy.

Nagisa looked at the few paintings that were hung on the wall. Flowers, roses, people, scenery, landscape, Nagisa even stopped to examine some paintings before running up to catch up to Itona.

But one painting intrigued Nagisa the most. A family portrait, a huge one.

It had a little child sitting on a mother's lap with the father standing behind and to the side of the chair. Now Prince Nagisa could see where Karma got his handsome look from. His mother had dazzling red hair the colored of blooming spider lilies and roses and pure skin. His father had brown hair the color of chocolate and various wrinkles around his face.

The mother wore a long, flowing, red dress with a loose, pink blouse. The father wore the normal king's outfit: a long, black cape, a normal, dark red suit, white pants, and long, black boots.

"They look so happy in that picture," Prince Nagisa commented. Seeing that Nagisa stopped to look at the painting, Itona walked to his side, "Yes, the young master misses them very much. He hides this well, but he still misses them,"

"Has he found out who killed them?"

"How do you know that his parents were murdered?"

Nagisa hesitated, "It's not news. It's been like this, and everyone around has known,"

"Hmm, true. No, Prince Karma hasn't found the perpetrator, but he's determined to do so,"

"I see,"

"I've heard about you killing the ones that poisoned your mother,"

Nagisa whirled around, "Where have you heard that?!"

"Oh? It's a secret? Miss Hayami, the Phoenix Castle's doctor and advice-giver, one of the very few people Prince Karma can openly express his feelings to,"

"Ah. An-Anyways, breakfast...?"

"Right this way. The other princes are expecting you,"

Itona knocked slightly on the door, "Prince Nagisa has arrived," Isogai opened the door for the both of them, beckoning for Prince Nagisa to enter. The bluenette walked through the doorway before hearing the door close behind him.

The table was about ten normal tables stuck end to end. What was the point of having such a long table? All the princes sat at the farthest end of the table, making Nagisa groan silently from the distance he had to walk. Karma beckoned for Nagisa to sit across the corner from him, "Nagisa, we were expecting you. Sit, sit,"

Nagisa heard Prince Asano's foot tapping impatiently for the food to arrive and saw his reddened face, as if he was going to explode without food to fill his stomach. Prince Chiba took a napkin that was neatly folded on his plate and began wiping the already polished silverware, paying close attention to the edge of the spoon and the knife blade. Karma just sat there, waiting for Nagisa to arrive.

Now that all four princes were here but the food wasn't ready, that signaled for the four to start talking. Prince Chiba started, "So, how have your mornings been?"

"Starving," Prince Asano grumbled.

"Normal," Karma stated.

"Interesting," Nagisa bluntly said.

That answer caught Prince Chiba's attention, "How so, Prince Nagisa?"

"Hmm, I saw the family portrait hanging on the wall near the stairs. It, felt different,"

Karma's eyebrows raised just a tad at that last word, "Different?"

"How can I put this...it seemed happier than the atmosphere here. Were your parents the lively fire of this castle?"

"No, but there were the fuel to the fire," Karma rested his cheek onto his propped up hand, "They were the one that fueled my fire, making me happy," Karma sat up straight again, "But they're gone, and I can't change that,"

Nagisa felt like he said something wrong to insult Karma, " Oh, I'm, uh, sorry...,"

"It's fine,"

Prince Asano sensed the tension in the air between the two princes and decided to change the topic, "Nice weather we're having. I guess the gods had mercy on us today," All of the princes looked out the stained glass window.

There was just a small flurry, the titanium white snow dropping down slowly like paper lands when it's floating down. There was about a foot of snow outside, better than the three feet from yesterday. And that's when Karma realized.

With just normal boots, Nagisa walked normally outside in the snow. Normally, any person that small would only have their upper body and head exposed to the wind and holding their arms to warm themselves from the cold. But Nagisa walked towards the castle like he was walking in the middle of spring, his cloak rapidly giving in to the wind. Was he used to this? Even then, why didn't he sink through the snow? The carriages sunk, but by that time, it was only one and a half feet of snow.

"Prince Karma?" Nagisa's voice echoed. Karma jumped, "Uh, uh, yes?"

"Your food...it's here and all you've been doing is spacing out towards the window...,"

Karma looked at the others. Asano had finished about three plates of the food and sat back, relaxing with a full belly. Prince Chiba was in the middle of finishing his plate and Prince Nagisa was done. Karma picked at his food.

Crossaints, grits, sausages, apples, the normal breakfast meal he knew about for the past years he had been here. Karma gobbled down the food faster than Nagisa would've liked to have him eat, "Karma, sl-slow down, you're going to choke...,"

It was already too late, since Karma had already finished his food faster than Chiba did, "I haven't choked in seven years. Don't worry, I'm not choking on anyone,"

"Okay then, but still. Don't risk it. Remember, don't let your guard down,"

Karma stilled, the earlier playfulness gone. Prince Chiba had finished his grits and sighed, "So, what's on the agenda after breakfast?"

"Rest for training,"Nagisa and Karma said at the same time. They looked at each other.

 ** _I know your daily schedule._**

Right, Nagisa knew everything about Karma.

But Prince Chiba wasn't fazed at all by that, "Okay, how long?"

"An hour," Karma replied. He looked to Nagisa. The look on the blue-haired prince's face looked like he didn't want to talk in fear of revealing what he had been doing.

Prince Asano got up from the table, "Good, that means I can eat my chocolate cake slowly and in peace. I'll be leaving you three now,"

"Two, actually. I was just leaving. I picked out a book earlier, and it seemed interesting. So I want to continue it,"

The black haired and strawberry-blonde haired princes left Nagisa and Karma in the dining room. The redhead stood and smiled at Itona and Nakamura, "You may leave now, thank you for your assistances,"

The white haired boy and the blonde bowed and left the room. The Phoenix Prince held his hand out towards the Dragon Prince, "Come, follow me,"

Nagisa reluctantly took his hand and let Karma glide over to a familiar door, "Are you sure you're comfortable with us enetering the garden again even after what happened yesterday?"

"I feel like you have a lot to teach me, Prince Nagisa," Karma bowed slightly and opened the spruce door, letting Nagisa enter first. The door closed behind them, leaving just Nagisa, Karma, and the flowers.

(Nagisa POV)

I could've sworn that Karma locked the door, but I didn't turn around in time to see anything, and if I approached the door to see if it was locked, I'd look like I wanted to escape, which Karma may not react well to that. I felt his hot breath puff onto my left shoulder; no wonder he was the Phoenix Prince. He whispered that warm breath into my ear, "Now, give me a lesson,"

"On what?" Lesson on what? I can't teach him if I don't know what he wants to learn!

Karma removed his face from my ear and stood in front of me boldly, "What happened with my parents?"

I flinched at that last word, "Wh-What do you mean?"

"Remember that event at the library? You said you knew everything about what happened to my parents. So let's take it one question at a time, okay teach?"

"Um...what's your first question?"

"Why did they have to die?"

I thought about it, trying to answer his questions with whatever I could remember, "Well, they, er, let's say...they weren't who you thought they were,"

"How so?"

"You're father jailed peasants for the smallest thing possible. If he didn't know them, he'd kill them. If he did know them, they'd stay in the dungeon until the king died. But he also stole from the Phoenix Kingdom merchants. He stole them because they had something he didn't. They had the passion and goal to do something, but he didn't. He didn't know what he wanted, so his whole life, he stole things from the merchants in hope of gaining some sort of goal or a reason to do something,"

"What about my mother?! Why did she have to die?!"

"She didn't stop her husband. In fact, she was the executor that killed the peasants your father jailed for a small thing Andrew didn't know them. She supported her husband, and hid that truth from you at the same time, hiding the greatest mask of her life from you, her only child, the heir,"

Karma looked down in agonizing truth, but continued his questions without breaking down, "How were they killed?"

I was surprised at the prince's determination to learn everything, but I didn't let it affected how I answered his questions, "They were stabbed in the heart by throwing knives,"

"I thought so. Why did I even ask? I saw the throwing knives penetrate my parents with my own eyes," Karma looked at me with those honey-colored eyes of amber, and I knew he saved the best and most agonizing question for last, "Who killed my parents?"

I looked at him, pain in my eyes, fists clenched, but ready to dodge any attack Karma gave me, "I,"

"You what? Tell me!"

"I did,"

"No, you didn't tell me! You didn't hear any names!" (Karma how dense can you be?)

"I killed your parents,"

Karma looked paralyzed. I fought back tears as I saw those handsome eyes look at me with horror and disgust. Well, calmness flew out of the castle, didn't it? Karma's mouth opened, "AGHH!"

I saw a dagger fly for my face, so I caught it and pinned Karma's shoulder down to the grassy floor, the dagger in my control. I wasn't ready to die just yet, and Karma wasn't ready either. He bucked backwards with a force so strong that I let go. Karma grabbed his dagger from my hands, giving me the chance to pull out my own dagger.

It was the same dagger that I pinned to his throat yesterday, but I didn't care. I blocked his blow with my dagger, pushing him backwards into a small flowerbed. I looked at his eye for a split second before his lunged at me, dagger aimed for my shoulder. His once calm eyes were now a ferocious glowing amber with split pupils. I rolled side to side, dodging his blows to my torso. I grazed the blade of the dagger against his arm accidentally, cutting a tear in his suit. He saw this and began to pull out another dagger.

But before he could reach his hand down to the other dagger, I kicked his first dagger across the garden, hearing it clang against the stone wall. Panicking, he reached for his other blade, only to be stopped when I rammed full force into his stomach.

(Karma POV)

It felt like an arrow was shot through my abdomen. With that much force and such a little prince, I could tell that he was a skilled killer. I reached frantically for my second blade, but Nagisa kept on punching my arm away, or kicking my stomach, or sometimes, ramming full force into me. I finally gave up the second dagger and went fist to fist. I punched his nose bridge, his stomach, his leg, his chest, but he took it, punch after punch. He didn't seem fazed at all by punches. How strong is he?!

He kicked my chest, launching me back towards the stone wall. I fell on all fours, panting and trying to retrieve what little oxygen I could get. Nagisa saw my weak stance and performed the axe kick on my middle back. I fell face-forward, still somehow clinging on to whatever little energy I had.

This garden was soundproofed and no one else was watching. The door was locked from the inside. If I die here, no one will come for me until my body is nothing more than a skeleton and ragged clothes. I had no choice but to surrender. But my mind willed against my heart, so I clung onto a sliver of energy and waited for the moment to strike.

"Get up and punch me. I know you're still conscious because your breathing is the same as it is when you're awake," Nagisa's voice seemed louder and more intimidating. He lightly placed a foot on my back, "Get up Karma. Or do you want to lose this battle?"

Following his orders, I used that sliver of energy to punch Nagisa backwards and away from me. I drew my dagger and saw a trickle of blood run down the corner of his mouth. _Dammit, he bit his tongue to keep from falling!_ I raised my dagger and ran towards him with the rest of my energy, prepared to injure him, not kill, but teach him the lesson. Students teach teachers sometimes, and this was the perfect example.

Wait what?

—

 **BOOM. THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL A CLIFFHANGER. RECOGNIZE THE FIGHT SCENE? I CHANGED IT UP A BIT FROM THE KARMA VS NAGISA FIGHT SCENE IN SEASON TWO EPISODE 18. I SORTA SWITCHED NAGISA AND KARMA AND GAVE THEM REAL WEAPONS. AND NAGISA IS MORE FRIGHTENING, OR THAT'S AT LEAST WHAT I GOING FOR.**

 **UR CLIFFHANGER BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	6. The Phoenix's Fall

(Karma POV)

Where's my dagger? I swore I had it—

That python aura. It was now wrapping around my neck.

I just expected the dagger to be in front of my throat, but no. Nagisa thought this through. My dagger was pointed dangerously at my nape and Nagisa's dagger was pressed against my throat. But it was a harder press, not the lighter one from yesterday.

And that harder press, it was cutting me. I felt a warm liquid run slowly down my neck, and the origin was located where his dagger was pressing. Nagisa leaned closer to my ear, "Relax. The Great Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom shouldn't panic too hard. It's just a small cut,"

Small cut?! You call this a small cut?!

"Nevermind, it's not a small cut," I didn't know whether or not to be happy that Nagisa wasn't a psychopath or terrified because the cut got bigger.

"It's just a paper cut. You'll be fine,"

A PAPERCUT?! Nevermind, all logic just left the castle! Either that or Nagisa is a psychopath!

"I don't want you dying of blood loss on me, it could taint my record," _As if it already isn't,_ thought Karma, but he stayed silent. Nagisa shone those cold, blue eyes on me, "Here, let me take you to my room. I'll treat your wound,"

"Th-Thanks...,"

"Don't touch it...it'll get infected, considering that you've touched the the dirt in the garden. Here," Nagisa grabbed a leaf from the nearby bush, "This looks cleaner than your hand. Cover it with this. I don't want any maid dropping trays around your castle when they see the blood on your neck, especially when I'm near you. They'll fear me for the rest of their lives. Honestly, I'm harmless unless you mess with the dark side of me,"

I could've sworn Nagisa's eyes flashed a devilish red when saying that last sentence.

When Nagisa and I entered the room, Nagisa hurried to open his bag, which contained some of his personals items, including medical equipment. Nagisa used the basin of warm water to wet a silk cloth. After wringing out some of the water so it wouldn't drip, the Dragon Prince ordered, "Karma, sit on the bed,"

I sat on the bed and removed the leaf. When I looked at what was on the leaf, all I saw was red and green, red liquid dominating the green leaf in stains and pools of blood. I winced at the pain. Nagisa walked over with the wet cloth and lightly pressed it on the wound, causing me to wince in pain, "It-it hurts...,"

"Stop being a baby and shut up. If you talk, it'll make the wound grow larger and then I'll have to use a needle and thread to sew it up, and you wouldn't want that, believe me,"

Honestly, I was surprised at Nagisa's snappy answer, but decided not to protest in case the wound would get larger. I struggled to resist the pain as much as he could, and I was relieved when Nagisa said, "Okay, I'm done cleaning it,"

Nagisa threw the rag next to the water basin and returned to his satchel. There, he retrieved bandages to wrap my neck, "If I had known you were so sensitive, I would've packed better medical equipment. But I only packed this, thinking that you'd be stronger than that. It's fine though, since it'd work just as well,"

I just sat still as Nagisa wrapped his neck, "Karma, squeeze my hand if it's too tight,"

I gripped Nagisa's hand tightly several times, signaling that it was too tight for my liking. After four or five layers of the bandage, Nagisa cut the bandage and made it stay on his neck. The blood cut through two of the layers, but never made it through the third layer. I rubbed the bandage, "Thanks again,"

"Sure, no problem,"

Someone knocked on the closed door. Prince Nagisa answered it, "Oh, Itona. What is it?"

"Training time, my prince,"

—-

(Chiba's POV)

{Training Grounds}

"We'll be doing archery first," said Yada, a great tutor in physical training.

Karma groaned, making it obvious that he didn't like archery. Prince Asano examined the bow he was given, critizing the wood"s quality, since he was given the worst bow. Prince Nagisa tested the strength of his bow, only to break the strings of four bows before he got one that he didn't break. The broken strings were discarded and new strings were attached. I examined my bow.

It was a beautiful polished birch with flowers carved into the side as decor. Roses and tulips. What's with the manyroses and tulips? The white birch wouldn't hide well in the forest, so it probably wasn't designed for stalking and killing. I ran my finger over the carved flowers, thinking back to the little event Karma and I had in the secret garden.

 _You still haven't grown to your full potential, but you claim that you have._

I slightly smirk.

Grabbing an arrow from Kataoka and placing it on the bow, I shot at the painted target, only to miss it completely, "Ah, I haven't used a bow in a while. It might take a while to adjust,"

I saw an arrow fly past beside me. I turned to the left. Prince Nagisa had already fired his arrow, landing it in the very middle. Prince Asano to my right clapped at Prince Nagisa's achievement, "Ah, good job, Prin—"

 _Woosh. Woosh._

Two more arrows flew from Nagisa's bow. The third arrow pierced through the second arrow mid-flight, cutting straight through the middle of the arrow and splitting the arrow on the target. Prince Asano stilled. Even the mighty Prince Karma Akabane's mouth hung open. Nagisa brushed his bangs to the side, and looked at me. I felt paralyzed by those azure eyes. He walked towards me an adjusted my bow slightly to the left, "You're pointing off-target,"

I snapped back to reality and nodded slightly. Nagisa closed his eyes sweetly and walked back to his station. Picking up another arrow Itona had handed him, he shot at the target, making it slightly under the previous arrows, "There's no wind, since this is a secluded training area with no open windows, so you aim directly for the middle,"

Prince Nagisa shot another arrow, piercing the fourth arrow he'd shot, "With enough practice, you can work wonders,"

The bluenette ran towards the target and pulled the arrows out. The others resumed practice, trying to take Prince Nagisa's advice. They were closer to the middle, but not quite. I raised my bow and put an arrow to the string and pulled the string back. But I couldn't shoot. My arms were shaking uncontrollably.

 ** _You're pointing off-target._**

It took a while and constant reassurance from Kataoka before I shot the second arrow.

Directly in the middle.

After about ten minutes of arrows whizzing by, victory punches from Prince Asano and sounds of the metal arrow tips hitting against the painted wood, now was the time for fifteen minutes of combat Prince Karma declared earlier.

Yada declared the first pair for fist-to-fist combat, "Okay, so the first round will be Prince Asano versus Prince Karma,"

Prince Karma rolled his eyes and stood in the middle. Prince Asano smirked and faced the redheaded prince. They shook hands and stepped a couple of steps backwards. The sound of Yada's voice could be heard in all four corners of the room, "Three! Two! One! Fight!"

Prince Asano lunged for Prince Karma, only to get punched backwards by Karma's strong arm. The strawberry blonde growled and went for another attack, this time rounding around the redhead and kicking him from behind. The Phoenix Prince looked like he was going easy on Prince Asano, and I confirmed this with the look Prince Nagisa had. Karma picked up the light prince and threw him to the ground, only to swept down by the Stallion Prince's grip and they were put in a locked position. Yada declared Prince Asano the winner because he was the one that slammed Karma down to the floor and the redheaded prince couldn't do anything about it. Prince Karma smirked at the cocky strawberry blonde prince, "I was going easy on you. Next time, I won't be so merciful,"

"Whatever, sugar-coat your loss all you want. The real deal is when I beat Prince Nagisa! That's who I want to beat to a pulp,"

The Dragon Prince laughed, "I could beat you half-asleep and tied up!"

"We'll see about that when I beat you!"

Yada yelled out the next pair, "Prince Chiba versus Prince Asano!"

Well shit. Wouldn't that go swell. I could already sense Prince Asano's victory from ten miles away, and I was right. I was out in another locked position by Asano, only it was different than the one used on Karma. Sneering, Prince Asano walked away. I brushed the dust off of my coat and returned to Kataoka, who replied to my sadness, "Hey, it's okay. It was your first fight, and Prince Asano's pretty strong. You'll be better next time, I'm sure of it. You tried your best in that fight, and that was all that mattered,"

"Thanks. I hope Prince Nagisa beats that cocky prince to a pulp,"

"Me too,"

Prince Nagisa stretched his shoulder muscles before fighting. He took his cloak off, and I swore I heard metal clanging against metal when he tossed it on the wooden bench, but that was the least of my concern. Without that dark cloak, you wouldn't have seen the dark navy suit Nagisa wore. I thought it fit him very nicely, matching his hair and eyes. The strawberry blonde smirked at the smaller prince, "I'll go easy on you, since you're smaller—"

"Do that and face your death,"

"Okay, I'll give my all then. But be warned—"

"I should be the one saying that to you,"

Damn, this kid was snappy.

Asano sputtered, "W-Well, good luck to you—"

"You need it more than I do,"

They shook hands, Nagisa's gaze stern. Asano dipped his head slightly and took some steps backwards. He took one too many steps, and Prince Nagisa was aiming a blow to his back in mere seconds. He flew towards the direction he was headed, but stopped himself with his boot and aimed a blow to the Dragon Prince's chest. He took the blow, launching backwards into a backflip and stood up, poised for defense. After countless dodges and blocks from the bluenette, Prince Asano stopped and smirked, "If you keep blocking like that, this battle will go on for ages, and we only have seven minutes until the fist-to-fist combat session ends. You gotta move in sometime around now,"

"Hm? Okay," Nagisa swung around to the back of Prince Asano and delivered a kick to his lower back. Prince Nagisa ran up to the panting prince, grabbed him by the shoulders and lower back, and rammed his knee into his stomach countless times. After the Dragon Prince felt satisfied with kneeing the Stallion Prince, he flipped him over and threw him into the ground, sending dust flying around the two in circles. I gasped and learned one thing about Nagisa: Never suggest for him to switch from defensive to offensive.

I looked to Karma. The Phoenix Prince seemed to have a good time seeing the blue haired prince avenge him.

Prince Nagisa grabbed a handful of strawberry blonde hair and flung him through the air before he swept him across the floor, kicking dust up in the air. After the spectators waved the dust away, coughing. After the dust had cleared and settled, the Dragon Prince had put Asano in a triangle-arm choke, holding him down and forcing Asano to surrender. After Asano had surrendered, Prince Nagisa released the Stallion Prince and let him cough.

"Next time, I'll be sure to be half-asleep and tied up before you fight me," Prince Nagisa sarcastically stated to the choking prince. Karma clapped and congratulated Prince Nagisa's win along with me. Itona just smiled the entire time.

"The fifteen minutes are up! Now it's time for the next session!" Yada screamed.

I impatiently wondered what the next session was, "What's the next session?"

Yada smiled warmly at me, "Spear throwing," I internally celebrated. Spear throwing was one of my stronger points in fighting.

(Asano's POV)

I shook the loss off of my shoulders and heard Yada say that spear throwing was next. I groaned. I hated spear throwing a lot more than archery, and that's saying a lot.

Yada handed us wooden spears to throw at a wooden figure. Prince Karma threw his before us, hitting the arm, "That's farther than I would've liked," Of course he'd aim for the heart.

Prince Chiba threw his next. I overheard that Chiba was especially great at throwing spears, and that showed when Chiba hit the forehead of the wooden dummy. I threw mine next, hitting the upper leg, exactly where I wanted to hit. Hit the arm, the victim doesn't care. Hit the leg, the victim panics.

I grinned at my victory and faced Prince Nagisa, who was sharpening the dulled tip of the spear with a knife he'd gotten somehow, "So Prince Nagisa, where do you aim to hit?"

He looked up and pocketed the knife, aiming towards the dummy, "Somewhere no one wants to get hit,"

"The head?"

"Far from the head, actually,"

"The leg?"

The small prince chuckled, confusing me, "You'll see. I guarantee that I'll hit the spot I want to hit,"

Prince Nagisa threw the spear quickly, hitting the lower...

"No one wants to get hit in the groin area, I'm sure,"

When the spear hit that area, I protectively covered my own part, and so did the other two princes. The blue-haired prince chuckled again, "Bet you never thought about that place, huh?"

"What? Of-of course I did!"

"Your face says everything, Prince Asano. Deny it all you like, but it'll only hurt you, not me,"

Karma spun a spear in the air and threw it, landing it in the stomach, "Hah! Nagisa can read you like a book!"

"Shut up Prince Karma!" I threw back at the grinning redhead. I swear, he'll take the chance to stab me if he gets it.

Prince Nagisa threw a spear lightly in the air and kicked it towards the dummy mid-flight. It pierced through the first spear. Chiba smirked at the prince, "Show-off,"

"What can I say Prince Chiba? After being friends for a while, you'd think that you'd pick up a thing or two about me,"

So they were friends before this interaction?

After a long while of hearing the annoying noise of the spears hitting the wood, the session was done and Yada made it perfectly clear, "Next session: dummy training!"

Well that sounded boring, but it really wasnt.

In fifteen minutes, we had to completely demolish a wooden and cloth dummy together using the weapons our assistants picked out for us.

(Third Person POV)

Prince Karma got two maces, one throwing star, and a battle axe. _This was going to be easy._ Karma smirked, picking up the two maces, ready to pummel the figure.

Prince Nagisa got two daggers, one sword, and a spiked mace. _Well, let's see what I can do with this._ Nagisa picked up one of the daggers and ran his finger lightly over the sharpened blade.

Prince Chiba got two steel spears, a pair of nunchucks, and three throwing stars. _If I'm not careful with these, I could kill or injure someone._ He picked up the nunchucks, positioning to bash the head in.

Prince Asano got a steel rod, brass knuckles, and four knives. _Well, let's see what I can do with these._ Asano thought as he placed two knives into his hands.

Karma was the first to strike at the over sized dummy, attacking the stomach with his maces. Chiba joined Karma's, swinging the nunchucks over the head, striking it continuously. Nagisa soon joined it, placing several cut marks onto the leg. Asano joined in last, stabbing the back.

All were careful to hurt the dummy but not each other, no matter how much one would hate the other.

Soon, the dummy was reduced to splinters and beaten wood. Nagisa wiped the sweat off his forehead, "We still have five more minutes,"

"Then we leave early," Karma bluntly replied. They all nodded in agreement and proceeded out the door. Asano was the last to exit before realizing that Nagisa left his cloak on the bench. The Stallion Prince called out for the small prince, but he'd already entered the hallway and closed the door to his room, and so did everyone else.

 _I'll bring it back to him since I know where his room is, like every other prince. Besides, Prince Nagisa seems to adore this navy cloak._ Asano picked up the cloak when he heard metal hitting against metal. As he turned over the cloak to reveal the golden inside, he saw the many arrays of daggers, swords, knives, it was hard to believe how Nagisa moved around in this without a sound. Trying to push the horrifying truth away, he picked up the cloak and proceeded to the bluenette's room.

As soon as he was about to knock on the door, a frantic Nagisa opened the door. Seeing the cloak in Prince Asano's hands, he snatched it and whispered a hoarse "thank you" before closing the door again. And that confused Asano even more.

Where was the sound of the blades hitting teach other?

Asano concluded that it was just pure luck that the blades didn't hit to reassure himself from something darker.

—

 **I DIDN'T PUT MUCH KARMAGISA, BUT I PROMISE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME MORE KARMAGISA LATER ON IN THE SERIES! BUT I HOPED YOU ENJOYED THE SERIES! LIKE, FOLLOW, REVIEW, ANYTHING'S ALRIGHT WITH ME! BUT PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE IT REALLY MOTIVATES ME! AND IF YOU GUYS HAVE MORE PLOT IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE CHAPTERS, PLEASE OUT THEM IN A REVIEW AND I'LL CONSIDER THEM!**

 **YOUR WRITING MANIAC,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	7. The Dragon Hesitates

(Nagisa's POV)

I swear, if that Asano...Nevermind it. It wouldn't matter. There's already rumors spreading like wildfire about me killing thousands.

"Sire,"

"Yes, Itona?"

"Are you well?"

"Yes, Itona,"

The golden-eyed boy stood there for a while, before looking outside the window and informing me, "It is lunchtime now. The servants have prepared the food while you were training,"

"Okay,"

I took my cloak and exited the room, Itona trailing behind me.

{Dining Room}

I finished the soup and reached for the bowl of rice. It had cooked fish and steak on one side and pure white rice on the other. Carrots covered some of the top. I ate the bowl quickly, finishing before the rest, who finished just behind me. Karma smiled at me, "You know, you seem to eat as much as we do, yet you maintain your slender figure,"

"Genectics. Runs in the family on my mother's side,"

"Your mother's side. That's true, she did have a slender figure,"

Karma stood, making sure that his voice could be heard throughout the room, "I've prepared the sitting room for a small chat. Nothing much, just wanted to catch up with the recent happenings and just talk,"

"How long?" Prince Chiba wondered.

Karma looked at Chiba with his amber eyes, "Well, if we don't have any other plans, it can last until dinner,"

Asano looked at me, then at Chiba, and then faced Karma, "Yes, I think that would be wonderful. There's so much to learn from each other,"

Shivers went up my back. Of course, he knows about the cloaked daggers. He'd obviously jump at the chance to inquire me about it.

I stood up, wanting this to be over with as quick as possible, "Then let's go. It's not like the sitting room will walk to us, though that'd be nice,"

We made our way to the sitting room. I was expecting Prince Asano to say something to me, but he remained quiet.

{Sitting Room}

Asano and Chiba sat in a two-person couch, I sat on a wooden stool, and Karma sat in a wooden chair made of carved dark oak.

Asano started, "Nagisa, what's with your cloak and the daggers?"

"Oh," I expected this to happen, right from the start, "I hide blades in the cloak, but I swear it's for self-protection! And punishing criminals...," Since when did I feel so relieved to reveal a secret?

Asano wasn't satisfied however, "No, not that. I mean, how is it that sometimes, you hear the blades hitting each other, but other time you don't?" I flinched.

Karma joined in as I opened my mouth, "And something else! How come when you were walking in the snow, that same cloak was flapping in the wind like nothing was in it?!"

I couldn't lie, since there wasn't a possible second explanation for this, so I answered truthfully, "Magic,"

I could see Karma and Prince Asano stifle a laugh. Prince Chiba looked confused. I held out my hands in front of me in defense, "I swear, it's true...I-I just can't explain it well...,"

Karma looked at me, laughter washed away and replaced with curiosity in his eyes, "Well, how do you do it?"

"I-I don't know. I just think about making them disappear temporarily and they do,"

Chiba pointed at my cloak, "Open your cloak and do it. I want to see it if it's true. I still can't accept the truth unless I see it with my own eyes,"(Hah, get it? Cuz, his eyes are covered by his bangs? Haha...imma go now)

"Um, okay then...," I opened one side of my cloak, revealing the daggers, knives, and blades galore. I thought about hiding the blades, and all of a sudden, my cloak felt lighter. They are gazed in astonishment, "Woah...,"

Prince Asano looked into my soul with his amethyst eyes, "So you didn't lie,"

"Why would I?"

"Everyone lies about something,"

(Third Person POV)

The four princes continued on, chatting about the little things.

Chiba laughed, "That reminded me! There's this boy named Jason, weird name, I know, and he lives across the street from the village elder and he came up to me complaining to one of my servants that the elder threatened to take his shoes,"

"Really? What happened?" Nagisa asked.

"The servant got Jason an old pair of shoes that she traded for a carved pair of chopsticks,"

"Isn't that sweet," Asano commented.

They talked on and on, talking about the last time they counted their money, about the boy that fell in love with a girl and dumped her the next day, walking around town in disguise, small things like that.

Until Karma pitched in on something that bothered him for a while, "Hey, Nagisa,"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Could you tell us about the people you've killed?"

Nagisa's bright smile faded to a solemn frown, "Well, I guess Karma would want to listen to this the most,"

Asano scooted in further, "About killing who?"

Nagisa looked at the other three princes, ready for their terrified looks that will be painted on their faces, "Killing King and Queen Akabane,"

—

[Seven Years Ago]

{The Dragon Castle}

"Mom? Mom, please...wake up...,"

Queen Hiromi's body laid limp in the seven-year old's arms. The poisoners had fled, seeing the young prince run towards his mother's wail of death. Enraged, he planned on what to do next. He would take the last thing his father gave him, which was a navy cloak with a golden interior, pack daggers into the cloak, and set out to look for the poisoners first thing tomorrow.

At least, that was what he had wanted to do.

Instead, Prince Nagisa burst out the door. It was midnight and the servants cried out to let him stay insid the castle, but he didn't care. He tucked his daggers in his oversized navy and gold cloak and ran into the night. He could clearly remember their faces.

But he had to go undercover and interrogate people.

So he dressed as a middle-rank person and asked questions. Those who realized who he was were killed on the spot without a second thought. When he went to the last house, an old woman came out and thought he was someone else.

"Oh, Sukeyasu, it's just you. You shouldn't be out at night; someone's going around killing various people,"

Nagisa said nothing, but the old lady continued, "And that's not yet the biggest problem. My fifteen year old daughter, you know, Kagami? Yes, she went to the Phoenix Castle to ask for a job! You know what that means, it's suicide! The king, King Akabane, he kills peasants on sight without a valid reason! And the queen doesn't even care! In fact, that crazy lady supports him by hiding this dark truth from their only son!"

That was all Nagisa needed to know. The poisoners could wait; he just had to save Kagami. Nagisa couldn't bear to see one of his own die at the hands of someone else. Sure, he killed three or four people tonight, but that was for identity purposes. He can't have everyone know where he was; he'd be under castle arrest for the rest of his life!

Nagisa dipped his head and sped off towards the Phoenix Castle. Climbing the tallest tree he could find, he spotted Kagami walking towards the gate of the castle. Nagisa put his cloak hood on, careful to shield most of his face. Then he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, slipping on a couple of roof tiles beforing regaining his balance and run faster to make up for the time. Kagami knocked on the door just Nagisa jumped to the second to last roof. _Shit! I'm not going to make it!_

"Hello! I'm Kagami, and I was wondering if I could apply for a—," Kagami stalled enough time for Prince Nagisa to jump in front of her, shielding her away from the dastardly bastard. He shielded his eyes so that his identity could be kept a secret. Kagami tapped his shoulder, "Um, sorry, but I'm trying to talk to the kin—,"

"Stay back or die," Nagisa choked out in a hoarse whisper so she couldn't recognize his voice, "Go back to your kingdom,"

"But—,"

"Stay here and you die,"

Kagami took a step back, face shocked with terror. Nagisa deepened his order, "GO!"

Kagami ran away as fast as she could. Now the prince could focus on the king and queen who answered the door.

"What do you want?" Queen Miyumi Akabane hissed.

"To stop killing people for no reason," Nagisa spoke in his normal voice. He hadn't gone to any Gatherings with the other royalties, so they wouldn't recognize his voice even if they tried. But they did know what he looked like, so he made sure his hood didn't fall off.

"And why should you be so concerned?!" King Sugawara Akabane growled deeply.

"Why don't we go inside and talk there? It'll look suspicious if you're talking to me at your castle gate and not inside,"

They reluctantly let the boy in, which they would later regret. Nagisa looked at the two but covered his eyes. Only his mouth showed, "Don't worry. I'll be in and out in a bit. I just ask that you stop killing peasants for no reason whatsoever,"

"And why should we abide by your rules?! We are the king and queen of the Phoenixes, and you're just a small village boy!" The king's words dripped with hate.

Nagisa changed his mouth from a slight frown to a deathly smile, and then he laughed. Actually laughed, "Oh, there's so much you could learn about me,"

"Go home, little boy. Or is that a girl?" The queen teased.

Nagisa shifted to a small frown, but then changed it quickly to the deathly smile that could paralyze anyone with the right dosage, "I'm a boy. In fact," Prince Nagisa showed his deathly glowing eyes that shimmered like an ocean ready to drown you and eat your body apart, "I'm a prince too,"

King Sugawara sputtered, "Pr-Prince N—"

Nagisa slashed at the king, interrupting him. The queen drew her own knife and attacked Nagisa. Nagisa dodged to the left and punched the queen across the room with the bottom of his dagger. The king charged at him, his wife's knife in hand.

The prince narrowly avoided the blow, only to have the king stab him in the back on the side. It didn't hit anything that could be fatal, but it weakened Nagisa quite a bit and caused the boy to scream.

 _Shit._

 _I'm going to have to patch this rip up! Dammit, the blood too?! Ugh, that's going to take forever to wash off!_

This alerted someone, who was just trying to get a glass of water.

Prince Karma (who was seven as well) heard the cries of pain coming from the foyer. As he opened the door slowly and quietly, he saw a hooded person attacking his parents.

Any normal kid would've screamed bloody murder and ran. But Karma stood still, paralyzed with both fright and astonishment.

Nagisa saw the red headed kid, who he assumed was the prince, and stated to the injured parents, "Look, your screams of pain made your precious little son come out. Shame, couldn't you keep your mouths shut or bring the volume down? I guess you'll have to be punished for that and the other reasons I came here to kill you for,"

Nagisa took out his throwing knives from his cloak and threw them, six in total, three for each person. Head, heart, stomach.

They landed where Nagisa wanted them to land. The king, who had been taking hits and was injured badly, died on the spot. The queen, however, staggered around and coughed blood, before collapsing in her own blood. Nagisa sneered, "Tsk tsk. You got everything dirty. You know how long it takes to wash blood of of clothes? This is going to be a nightmare to wash off. Not to mention how many stitches the rip you made in my clothes,"

Nagisa looked up to the boy, eyes glowing like crystals. Prince Karma froze. Was this going to be the death of him?

But the Dragon Prince said nothing and did nothing but raise a finger to his lips as if shushing the boy, "Don't. Tell. Anyone. That. It. Was. Me. Or else you die as well,"

Karma backed out and closed the door. Nagisa trusted that the prince would keep his secret even after seeing his parents die and fled out the gate.

 _One problem done. Many more to go._

—

"Wow...I-I...," Prince Chiba stammered. Nagisa rubbed his finger along the rim of his teacup (which was given mid-story so Nagisa stopped talking for a bit and waited for the servant, Hinano, to leave, before he continued).

"Yes, I know. It's a lot to take in,"

"Are you in love with Kagami?" Asano smirked. Karma held his breath.

"Wha-NO! She's eight years older than me! Besides, she married someone else already," Karma silently exhaled, making sure no one heard or saw him.

"Hmm, okay then...,"

Nagisa faced Karma, "So, what did you do after I left, Karma? You must of remembered, and I've been letting out too many secrets without any payment,"

—

After the murderer left, Karma cracked the door open. Seeing that the scary hooded person was gone, he ran to his parents, "Mom..dad...? Please wake up...,"

No answers. Karma cried out big and hot tears, the tears running down his cheek and dripping onto his mother's gown.

The servants were fast asleep by this point, so no one would find them in a while, at least until one wakes up. Karma lost his thirst for water and wailed, clutching his mother's gown and resting his crying head onto her stomach, next to the dagger that was in her stomach. Out of rage, Karma pulled all six daggers out and threw them to the side. He sat down, next to his father.

Tear tracks ran down his reddened cheeks. Snot dangerously threatened to run down from his nose. His heart thumped.

 _What will I do now? My parents are dead, the servants are fast asleep, and I'm the only one awake and alive._

"I promise mom and dad, I will look for the killer myself, and kill him,"

—

"Pfft, I'm not dead," Nagisa commented.

"Only because it was you. If it was Asano, oh boy, he'd be dead in a heartbeat,"

"Hey!" That made Prince Asano pretty mad.

"Prince Nagisa," Chiba called out.

"Hm? What is it?" Nagisa sipped his tea and faced the long-banged prince.

"Tell us about another murder,"

Nagisa hesitated. _Is this safe? Will they send troops after me for these murders? Are there troops at my castle? I hope Sugino's strong enough to hold them back if they are. No, they wouldn't. I've only killed criminals, and they deserved it. Well, and the identity reveal era but those were for_

"-gisa? Prince Nagisa? Prince Nagisa!" Prince Asano's voice rang.

"Huh?! Oh, yes?"

"If you don't feel comfortable...,"

"I'll tell you anyways," Where the heck did that come from?!

"Killing who?"

"The poisoners,"

—

 **SORRY TO LEAVE IT ON A CLIFFHANGER, BUT THE CHAPTER WAS GETTING A BIT LONG.**

 **MAKING SURE YOU DON'T LEAVE BECAUSE THE CHAPTER MAY BE TOO LONG FOR YOUR LIKING,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	8. The Phoenix Captures the Dragon

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I PROMISED KARMAGISA, YOU GOT KARMAGISA. AND THE BOOKS DOWN BELOW, THE BOOK TITLES, YEAH THOSE? I DON'T THINK THEY ARE REAL-LIFE BOOK TITLES, BUT IF THEY ARE, THAT'S JUST A COINCIDENCE. THANK YOU!**

—

(Third Person POV)

[December 23, 2 Days Before Karma's Birthday]

{The Dragon Castle}

"Wait, my lord! Wh-Where are you going?! Prince Nagisa!" Sugino called out for the prince, who was preparing himself to leave without a reason. The prince didn't turn around and continued to fasten his cloak.

"I'm going out," the prince replied coldly.

"Out where, if I may ask?"

"Just, out,"

"For whatever is the reason for your departure?"

Nagisa looked back at the black-haired assistant, smiling, "Just, a little favor to return to a special someone,"

"Oh, okay...,"

Nagisa hurried out, careful to hide his daggers and eyes from everyone. Today, he finally found out who the killers were.

They were kids his age, Chōsuke Takada and Nobuta Tanaka.

Well, they were the remaining. The others, named Sueno Ninsei and Sugita Muneyaki, died by hanging because they were found out. Nagisa was at the hanging, disguised of course. Sueno and Sugita begged for them to kill Takada and Tanaka instead of them, which was how Nagisa knew who the remaining were. Takada and Tanaka were the duo ringleaders, the ones who staged it all.

Now they would pay.

Nagisa pulled the brown hood down and entered a pub, where the two boys often hung out at, according to their parents, Wakabayashi Takada and Ogata Tanaka, the father of Takada and the mother of Tanaka. (Okay I know Japanese names are different than American names but I'm not Japanese so I don't know and I don't care all too much it's not important to the story! Just roll with it)

He saw the two black-haired boys dancing, obviously drunk from excessive beer. As to not look suspicious, Nagisa ordered a small cup of beer.

He had a second alias, by the name of Hashiro Yuno, age 24, female, single, no illnesses or conditions, middle-rank.

"Here ya go," the bartender handed Nagisa the beer, dripping with foam and bright gold, like the color of honey. Tanaka staggered up to the hooded figure, "Hey...thought there was a lady here...what's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Hey...just trying to make a friend...come on, it's just a name...,"

"It's Hashiro Yuno,"

"Oh~pretty name...*hic*," Tanaka leaned his beer-smelling breath close to Nagisa's hood, "Whaddya say, we go in the back...and...ya know...," He sloppily winked, drinking more beer.

This was his chance! Disgusting, but a chance to kill! "Sure, not like I have anything else to do,"

Tanaka staggered to the back, clenching Nagisa's skinny wrist. The bluenette waited for the moment to strike.

"Hey...why don't you take...that hood off...and let me look at yo...face~,"

 _Ugh! I'd rather be sitting through some dumb history lesson, but I have to kill them both._

Without lifting his hood, Nagisa stabbed the boy in the stomach. He was dead instantly; Nagisa made sure of this by burning the body carefully and then putting the fire out to keep it from spreading.

Nagisa walked back into the pub and sat and the same spot his beer was. The bartender eyed Nagisa, "So, what happened to that boy you went out in the back with?"

"Oh, him? His mother called for him, so he left early,"

"Damn brat didn't even pay me,"

"Here," Nagisa handed the bartender a few coins, "This oughta do it, shouldn't it?"

"Oh, thanks,"

"He didn't even plan on paying you back, that's what he told me,"

"Ay, can't blame him. So what's a middle-rank like you doing in the poor area of the Dragon Kingdom?"

"It got boring over there. So I snuck over here so I'd get at least a bit more fun. The low-ranks have a more lively and authentic lifestyle than us middle-ranks,"

"I see," He went back to polishing one of the beer cups.

Just like a dream, Takada walked up to Nagisa, "Hey...pretty *hic* lady...wanna dance?"

"Sorry, not in the mood,"

"Aww, come on...*hic* just...one...,"

"No,"

"Why...*hic*not...?"

"I don't want to,"

"Come...on...~,"

Takada reached out towards Nagisa's chest. On instinct, he grabbed the chair and swung it at him. The force sent the boy and the chair flying towards the wall, shaking the whole pub. Everyone, the musicians, the bartender, everyone ran out.

Except for Nagisa and Takada.

Nagisa decided to get it done as soon as possible, so he stabbed Takada in the heart, burned a hole in his head and upper torso, put out the fire, and left. He felt like a psychopath, but he did it because he was one of the ringleaders in the poisoning. Leaving the pub and returning to castle we're both done in a heartbeat.

A knock sounded on the gate. Nagisa quickly changed from his brown cloak to his favorite navy and gold cloak and made two servants, Terasaka and Yuzuki, open the door to let whoever was outside the gate in. It was the bartender.

"My prince, I have a problem to report,"

"Is it from your pub?"

"H-How did you know?"

"Your outfit says it all. But your hand is holding a towel used for cleaning beer cups and your fingertips are wrinkled,"

"Oh, you observe people quite well, my lord,"

"You're problem?"

"A lady, a young-ish lady from the middle-rank, named Hashiro Yuno, killed someone. A young, thirteen-year old boy!"

"I see. I'll have it taken care of, don't worry,"

After that, Prince Nagisa burned the brown cloak and bought a newer, dark chocolate colored one.

—

"That was, sudden," Karma commented.

"Yes, I know...,"

Did I just spill all of my secrets out?

Asano yawned, "What time is it?"

Itona walked in, "Dinnertime, my princes,"

{Dining Room}

Steak, roast pig, potatoes, a normal dinner meal Karma was used to. But Prince Chiba looked like he was having the dinner of a lifetime. Nagisa had no comment and just ate the food and Asano has had similar. But even then, Stallion Castle or Phoenix Castle, his appetite doesn't change.

After ten plates of food, the Stallion Prince stood up and excused himself to the East library to pick some books to read. The Nymph Prince, Chiba, later retired to bed and it just left the Phoenix and the Dragon.

(Karma's POV)

When Nagisa got up to leave, I had an urge to grab his wrist, so I did. He flinched under my touch, but I still firmly held his wrist, feeling the blood pumping through that pale skin. Nagisa blushed, "Wh-What are you doing?"

God, he looks so cute, "Nagisa, follow me," I stood up and walked fiercely out the dining room. Itona and Nakamura were sent to tend clean up the dining room and prepare it for tomorrow's breakfast so that they wouldn't be in the way of my plan. Nagisa walked quickly, trying not to let me drag him across the floor because he couldn't catch up with me.

I took him to my study and closed the door behind me. The fragile figure was shaking, still recovering from my fast pace. But I was an impatient boy, so I took him and slammed him against the edge of my carved, birch desk. He winced at the pain from the sharpness of the edge and that broke a sliver of my heart. But I wasn't going to let that happen. I grabbed his left arm with my right arm and pinned it to the side.

I took his tiny chin and raised it so that he was facing me. I could swear that he was shaking under my grip, but that didn't stop me. I smiled my signature devilish smile, "You know, I still have to punish you,"

"For wh-what?"

"I promise that I'd do something to you after you killed my parents. If I didn't kill you, at least let me taste you,"

"W-Wait...,"

I couldn't resist my lust, my want for Nagisa. I wanted Nagisa. I needed Nagisa. Forever.

You know, the problem with humanity is simple. People are made to be loved and things are made to be used. The problem is, is that people are being used and things are being loved. And I'm no exception.

I wouldn't say that I was using Nagisa, but it looked like I was forcing him and not loving him. So I buried my chin into his luchious hair and whispered, "I love you, Nagisa,"

"I love you too," I was surprised at the bluenette's answer. It felt staged, like it wasn't real.

But it was so real. It was real. My dreams had become a reality. A real dream.

I pulled back to look at Nagisa, who was looking at me with pureness in his eyes. He closed his eyes, "Do whatever you want,"

I smiled, "Okay,"

I rested my lips onto his, tasting the sweetness that I couldn't fully enjoy the last time we kissed. We moved our lips on sync with our heartbeats, and I felt our lips going faster and faster, just like our heartbeats. I felt the warmth heat up in my heart. His arm relaxed under my grip. I was still holding his chin, making sure it aligned well with my mouth.

It felt softer than silk, warmer than the fireplace, and sweeter than sugar. Nagisa gave in to my out-of-control tongue, which pleased me. I pulled back for a breath and whispered, "Not so tough without your dagger, huh?"

"I could pull it out if I wanted to,"

"But you didn't,"

"Because I don't want to,"

"Why not?"

"Because I only want you," His voice rang in my head, a new addition to the series of quotes that would forever linger in my head.

Nagisa wrapped his arms around my broad shoulders and pulled me in, connecting our mouths. The sweet taste that lingered in my mouth was replenished as my tongue ran around his small, dainty mouth. I released his chin and held his back, straightening it so that he'd be taller and I wouldn't have to crane my neck down, because it hurt.

I greedily dominated again and again, pulverizing the chance Nagisa had to dominate. He wouldn't do the Kiss of Death, and neither would I. Then I heard Nagisa pull away and look at the door. I ran to the door, but no one was around for miles. I hadn't heard footsteps or anyone, no sign of life. "What did you see, Nagisa?"

"Don't continue. Asano walking back and he's about to turn around the corner. Just act natural," Nagisa grabbed a nearby book and pretended to read it. I went to straighten some books on the book shelves, and while I was at it, looked at the old books I dreaded to read. Then I heard Asano's boots touch the floor nearby. Asano opened the door, "Hey, I heard one of your servants tell me that you had some interesting books here, and the libraries didn't have too many books I was interested in. Mind if I take a look?"

"Sure," I said. If it weren't for Nagisa, we would've been caught. The Stallion Prince didn't even knock, he just intruded without a word. I sighed in relief, and went back to straightening the books.

After Asano picked up one of my favorite books, The Emerald Palace, and left, I returned to Nagisa's side and looked at what he was reading. Apparently, while he was fake reading, he got interested in the book and actually read it. It was A Forest Wind, another one of my favorite books. As I walked around, I noticed a dusty, leather cover book in the dark corner. It was covered in dust and cobwebs and whatnot, do I decided to brush it off and put in on a shelf. But as I wiped my hand across the front, I abandoned all knowledge of putting it on a shelf.

The Dragon Prince.

—

 **I LOVE MAKING CLIFFHANGERS, AND THIS WAS ONE I HAD IN MIND FROM THE VEY BEGINNING. IT WAS BASICALLY KARMA FINDING A BOOK FULL OF NAGISA'S SECRETS, AND SINCE THE TWO WERE IN A STUDY WITH BOOKS, I DECIDED TO IMPLANT THAT IDEA HERE, AT THE END.**

 **MAKING IDEAS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	9. The Dragon Under a New Light

—

(Nagisa's POV)

I saw the red headed prince freeze after he picked something up from a corner. Was it a dead rat or something? No, he'd probably drop it. Wait...

What? How come I recognize that book?

On instinct, I ran over and snatched the book from his hands. Gladly, it was already dusted by Karma and I could quickly read the title.

The Dragon Prince.

So that's where it was. But how did it get there? Karma tried to get the book back, but I didn't let him, "Nagisa, you recognize the book?"

"Yes, and it's mine,"

"Give it,"

"Why?"

"Please," I could sense the longing in his heart, but I pushed the feelings away and made sure that Prince Karma didn't get the book.

It was a diary. My diary.

—

(Karma POV)

It couldn't understand why Nagisa was so attached to the darn book. I just wanted to peek in it.

Maybe it was a private journal or a diary of some sort. But I still wanted to see what was inside, what was written, "Please...,"

"No!"

"Is it a diary of some sort?"

Nagisa froze. He held the book in two hands and looked at it, face down to where I couldn't see those lighted sapphire eyes, "Yes, and it's mine,"

"Can't I see one page?"

"No!"

It was understandable, but curiosity took over my heart and head, "Why not?"

Nagisa hesistated before telling me, "It's a diary containing all of my secrets," He ran his hand over the cover, "I wondered where it was ever since I was seven, and since then, I've been going crazy trying to find it," Nagisa hugged the book tightly, "Thanks for finding it,"

I felt a warm glow inside me when I saw that smile, not a deathly one, but a genuine smile. Then I heard Nagisa quietly whisper something that he didn't expect me or want me to hear, "I should put this in my bag...,"

I held back a smile. If he did put it in his bag, I could get it when he's not looking and read it. Just once. Something bad, but hey. The rumors say that I do steal everyday, and even if it's false, I could make it slightly true. Just once.

When Nagisa left, I followed right behind him, planning out when and how he would get the book.

—

[Midnight]

(Third Person POV)

Karma took his black boots off and leapt off the edge of the bed in just his socks. Man, if his father saw him now, he'd get beat until his skin was as red as his hair.

His father.

Prince Karma shook the thought out of his head. As he slowly tiptoed out of his door and made his way to Nagisa's room, he suddenly remembered how much Nagisa's door creaked when it moved. So he decided to wing it and open the door quickly, wincing at the loud creak.

But Nagisa wasn't in the room. Thankfully, he left his bag on the stool near the desk, which was still empty except for the unlit candles that were scattered around. So Karma took the leather cover book and exited the room. But as he did, a gust of wind blew through the room, threatening to kill the fire in the fireplace. When the red headed prince looked out, he saw the window wide open, the shutters flapping in the wind.

Karma ran to the edge of the window, the cold air licking at his face. He saw a navy and gold cloak flap in the wind.

There it was again. He was walking normally. Karma rubbed his eyes. Still normally walking like he was strolling down the hallway. How? It was a question he failed to ask during the earlier chat in the sitting room, but one more question accompanied it.

What was he doing in the middle of the night?

Karma shoved the book in a drawer in his room and jumped out the window with his dark red cloak, regretting it immediately once he began falling two stories down. But the thick snow cushioned his fall, making a Karma-shaped imprint in the white, fluffy snow. And that brought up another question.

If Nagisa did go out the window, where is the imprint he made? But Prince Karma didn't have time to ponder on the question since Nagisa was walking away quickly. He trudged through the two feet of snow, quickly catching up to the fast prince somehow. He realized that he left the Phoenix Kingdom, but he didn't care. He tried to move as quickly and as quietly as he could possibly wade through the thick snow, expecting to see Nagisa still walking towards something.

But what Karma didn't expect was blood tainted snow as he got closer. Looking up, he saw Nagisa covered in grey furred animals.

Nagisa slashed and slashed at the wolves, spraying blood around. What he didn't know was that another wolf, bigger than the others, was lurking in the trees. It was dark and all Nagisa cared about was who attacked him, not about who was going to attack him. Karma unsheathed his sword and decapitated one wolf, angering the other wolves. But they still attacked Nagisa, who hadn't been hurt.

 _Yet._

The alpha wolf burst out of the trees to attack Karma since he'd killed one of his kind. Before Karma could turn around to attack the wolf, someone else stood in front of him.

Nagisa?

The alpha wolf dug his teeth into his neck. Nagisa screamed in pain and stabbed the alpha wolf. The old wolf dug his claws into the side of Nagisa as he fell in a pool of his own blood. The other wolves, due to their alpha's death, ran away, leaving the shocked prince and the injured boy. And someone else, who was watching the entire thing.

"No...don't...hurt him...," Nagisa hissed, who was down on all fours, the warm liquid dripping down his sides and onto the thick snow, with absorbed each and every drop. Karma looked up to see a looming figure in the trees, a dagger in his gloved hands. The figure sheathed the dagger. Nagisa coughed up blood, heavily painting the snow.

"Please...help him...," Karma pleaded, tears threatening to fall. The figure glided over to the injured prince and looked down.

"I wonder what makes you want to sacrifice your own life for this boy. As far as I know, you'd choose your life over no one," Karma assumed that the strange man was talking to Nagisa, who replied, "Just...please...don't hurt him...,"

Nagisa coughed bile out and collapsed, his blood trickling down his mouth and neck. Karma dropped down beside him, "No, no, Nagisa...wake up...please," Karma looked up to the figure, who was crouching down to pick up the prince, to which Karma hugged the passed out prince and pleaded, "Wait...don't hurt him...,"

"I won't. But if you leave him here, he'll die. My cabin isn't far, just a half mile into the forest," Without hearing Karma's answer, the man picked up the injured boy easily and walked further into the forest.

Well, glided over the snow, it seemed like.

—

(Nagisa's POV)

I woke up to the musky scent of old spruce wood and old wool. I got up, my entire left side in excruciating pain. I examined my surroundings.

Mossy spruce logs. A small, stone fireplace. An old, blue blanket draped over my body. Various blade sharpeners and polishing tools. I knew exactly where I was.

"Korosen-Sensei? Where are you? Where's Karma?!" I looked around, not a trace of life anywhere. Then a tall, dark brown haired man with a cloak walked in through the door, holding a basket of herbs he had collected from the forest, "I'm right here,"

"Where's Karma?!"

"Oh, so that's his name? You must of grown so attached to this Karma if he lets you call him Karma and not Prince Karma,"

"How did you—,"

"There's only one person named Karma, and that's Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom,"

I looked down and touched my side. It stung like a thousand wasps, so I drew my hand back and looked at it. Dried blood was sprinkled all over my hand, as well as new blood, "Here, let me treat you,"

"WHERE'S KARMA?!"

"I sent him to fetch some water from the well. It's taking him an awfully long time,"

"You don't have a well," Nagisa hissed at the pain that Korosen-Sensei inflicted on his side when he pushed a cloth against it.

"I do, it's just that you don't go around to the back,"

"Does Karma know how to get water from the well?"

Korosen-Sensei folded the rag to a clean side and returned it to his wounds, "I showed him, but maybe he can't lift the bucket up,"

"I'm going to check on him, maybe help him,"

"But your wounds—,"

"I don't care! It's just a scratch!" Nagisa screamed as he tried to get up from the couch.

"Stay down. I can hear Prince Karma coming back,"

Nagisa relaxed back down at the sound of his name. Karma came in, a full bucket of water in his hands, "Sorry I took so long—oh. You're awake!" Nagisa could only smile back, "Korosen-Sensei told me to go fetch some water in the back, but the bucket got really heavy and I dropped it. It rolled into the woods and it took me a while to find it. Even with the snow, the bucket was hard to find. Then I had to go back to refill it and lug it back here. Sorry if I worried you. I should probably get Yada to install weightlifting sessions in the training room, haha,"

"What time is it?" Nagisa tried to look out the window, but he could see where the sun was. Korosen-Sensei answered, "2:00 in the morning," The Dragon Prince relaxed even more, still trying to resist his tears forming because of the pain in his neck. Korosen-Sensei turned to Karma as I started to fall asleep, "You Know, Prince Nagisa only risks his life like that for someone he truly loves, and he hasn't found that person yet. Not even his mother or father. So you must be a special person to Prince Nagisa, Prince Karma," I held my breath at Korosen-Sensei exposing my feelings, but I was too tired to care.

Then I fell asleep in my own pain and relief.

—

(Karma POV)

I wet the rag and wiped the blood from Nagisa's side. I heard him whimper in his sleep as soon as I hit a weak point in the wound, which pained my heart. Korosen-Sensei, what a weird name. For America, it'd be like, I don't know, Mr. The Person Whose Killed Thousands the Teacher? Something like that, I didn't pay much attention to my English tutor before she quit to become someone else's servant. I think her name was, Nakamura? Either Nakamura or Noriko, I can't remember. It didn't matter.

Korosen-Sensei entered through the door after picking some more mushrooms for stew. If I had only seen that wolf, I would've saved Nagisa from excruciating pain. Korosen-Sensei walked over, his tall figure forming a shadow that could cover half of the cabin with darkness, "So, how's Nagisa?"

"Alive and in pain,"

"I see,"

I buried my head in my hands as I placed the bloody towel on the edge of the wooden bucket, "If I had seen that wolf, or at least dodged the attack instead of stood there, frozen like a baby chicken in the snow, maybe Nagisa wouldn't be in so much pain,"

"But then you wouldn't have met me,"

"But Nagisa wouldn't be in pain!"

I looked down, studying the grooves and ridges in the wooden floor. Korosen-Sensei patted my head, "Yes, but you learned something else about him,"

"And that is?"

"You know, he hasn't been here for the first time, Prince Karma,"

"He's been here multiple times?"

"Of course. In fact, on the day he walking to your castle, he came in the middle of the snowstorm to return a dagger he had accidentally taken from me. Foolish child, I thought, but he was a persistent young prince. Stuck-up sometimes, but a determined, young man that was set to change to world. At least, that's what he wanted to do in the past. Change the world,"

I was deeply engrossed in this conversation, learning more about Nagisa. Korosen-Sensei continued, "But I told him that there were too many people set to change the world, and how would you do it? Then he rethought his life, and decided that he wouldn't change the world, or at least make that his goal,"

"What is his goal?"

"To fulfill his dreams, live the most out of his life, experience great things, love someone so much that he'd sacrifice himself for them," I gasped and Korosen-Sensei chuckled, "Sound familiar?"

—

 **NOT A CLIFFHANGER, BUT I WANTED TO END THIS SO I COULD DO THE NEXT CHAPTER. AND THE NEXT CHAPTER YOU CAN SKIP, BUT I'D LIKE IT IF YOU'D READ IT...**

 **BAD AT BEGGING,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	10. Chapter 1-9 Bloopers

(The Mystery of the Dragon, Dining Scene)

The table was about ten normal tables stuck end to end. What was the point of having such a long table?

Karma: "I've wondered the same thing. Say, how long did it take to carve it out?"

Nagisa: "What the frick Karma?! There's no dialogue until here!" *points to the end of paragraph on the script*

Karma: "I know, but we can just reshoot it again,"

Asano: "Ugh, I'm not tapping my foot like this for the fiftiest time! I have had three cramps in my foot so far just from doing that!"

Karma: "Exactly! I don't exactly like you too much, Asano,"

WisdomPearl: "Okay, we are reshooting in five...,"

—

(The Dragon Under a New Light, Start Of Mignight Scene)

Karma took his black boots off and leapt off the edge of the bed in just his socks.

Karma: *slips* "Damn socks...,"

[Take Two]

Karma: "Oh wait, I forgot to put the socks on. Now where did I throw them in rage at?"

WisdomPearl: "It's on Asano's face,"

Karma: "Oh, can we keep them there?"

Nagisa: "Karma! The readers need to see the next scene, hurry up!"

Karma: "Fine, But first, I need to properly clean the socks because they have touched Asano,"

Asano: "Shut the f—,"

[Take Five]

Karma: *slips*

[Take Six]

Karma: *slips*

[Take Ten]

Karma: *perfectly makes it* "I made it!"

WisdomPearl: "Off script, reshoot,"

Nagisa: "Pfft...,"

Karma: "Shit,"

(The Phoenix Captures the Dragon)

Karma: "You know, I still have to punish you,"

Nagisa: "For what?"

WisdomPearl: "Cut! You need to stutter,"

[Take Two]

Karma: "Y-You know, I st-still have to p-p-punish you,"

WisdomPearl: "Cut! Karma, you're not the one stuttering, Nagisa is!"

Karma: "But you didn't specify,"

WisdomPearl: "Dammit Karma, stop being a cheeky asshole!"

—

(The Dragon Teaches the Phoenix, Library Kissing Scene)

 **95 Hits!**

Karma: *faints*

Nagisa: "Dammit Karma, it's 100 Hits, not 95 Hits!"

Karma: *cheeky grin* "Heh,"

[Take Two]

 **95 Hits!**

 _I'm...starting to...lose...consciousness..._

 **100 Hits!**

 **105 Hits?**

Nagisa: "Karma, you're supposed to pretend to faint!"

Karma: "What if I still want to kiss you?~"

Nagisa: "Karma...,"

Karma: "Nagisa...," *pulls Nagisa down, out of camera sight*

WisdomPearl: "Okajima, you're not in this chapter!"

Okajima: "Doesn't mean I can still take pictures,"

Nakamura: "Hoo...more blackmail pictures, here I come!"

WisdomPearl: "We are still in the middle of filming this chapter, and you're not in it! Get out!"

Okajima and Nakamura: "We're still not going to leave~,"

WisdomPearl: "Security!"

Okajima and Nakamura: "Oh shit, I'm leaving,"

WisdomPearl: "Karma and Nagisa, stop it and get up. We are reshooting in five...,"

—

(The Phoenix Captures the Dragon, Study Kissing Scene)

I greedily dominated again and again, pulverizing the chance Nagisa had to dominate. He wouldn't do the Kiss of Death, and neither would I.

 **1 Hit!**

WisdomPearl: "What the...Cut! Cut!"

Karma: "I literally said in the script to not to the Kiss of Death!" *holds up crinkled piece of paper*

Nagisa: "Sorry...I couldn't help it...~"

[Take Two]

I greedily again dominated and dominated...wait...

Karma: "I forgot the paragraph...wait...,"

WisdomPearl: "I don't get paid enough for this...wait! Cut! Cut!"

Karma: *pulls out crinkled piece of paper* "Oh, it's dominated again and again, not again dominated and dominated, got it,"

[Take Three]

I greedily do,instead...wait what?"

WisdomPearl: "Dammit, stupid typos. Sorry, here, let me get you the corrected script,"

[Take Four]

I greedily dominated again and again, pulverizing any chance Nagisa had—

WisdomPearl: "Cut!"

Karma: "Wait, why?"

WisdomPearl: "It's 'the', not 'any'. Reshooting in five...,"

Karma: "One word...? Whatever...,"

—

(The Phoenix Falls, Asano VS Nagisa Battle)

Asano: "If you keep blocking like that, this battle will go on for ages, and we only have seven minutes until the fist-to-fist combat session ends. You gotta move in sometime around now,"

Nagisa: "Far from the head, actually,"

Asano: "Huh?"

Nagisa: "Oh wait, wrong paragraph,"

Karma: "Pfft...,"

Nagisa: "Karma, shut the f—,"

Chiba: "Nagisa, language,"

[Take Two]

Asano: "If you keep blocking like that, this battle will go on for ages, and we only have fifteen minutes—wait—,"

Karma: "Yeah, like the battle started at the beginning of the fifteen minutes, Prince Ass-ano,"

Asano: "Hey, shut your damn mouth!"

[Take Three]

Asano: "If you keep blocking like that, this battle will go on for eons—,"

WisdomPearl: "Cut! It's ages, not eons! Reshooting in five...,"

Asano: "Same thing...,"

WisdomPearl: "Three!...,"

Asano: "Fine...,"

[Take Four]

Asano: "If you keep oejbgjoehgjoejohfjosnpfksnjkxmoqjc...haha, I just had a spasm...,"

WisdomPearl: *sigh* "I swear I need a raise, cut! Reshooting in five...,"

[Take Five]

Asano: "If you..," *bursts out laughing*

WisdomPearl: "What the...hey! Karma! Stop twerking!"

Karma: "Hah, I won over Asano's willpower!"

WisdomPearl: "This is what happens when Karma isn't on the scene for a while, cut! Reshooting in five...,"

[Take Six]

Asano: "If you keep—,"

Nagisa: *bursts out laughing*

WisdomPearl: "Karma! I just told you—,"

Karma: "But I'm not twerking...,"

WisdomPearl: "Well get that out of your mouth and just eat the darn thing!"

Karma: "Why?...It's a lot more fun teasing Nagisa with this...,"

WisdomPearl: "It's T-Rated, for your information,"

Karma: "But I'm off-screen...,"

WisdomPearl: "Well, you're posing as a distraction for the actors that are ON-screen. Reshooting in five...,"

Chiba: "God dang it Karma, that's the second time!"

—

(The Nymph Confuses the Phoenix, Secret Garden Scene)

Chiba: "Nicht jede...what was the rest?...,"

Asano: *stifles a laugh*

Chiba: "What the heck Asano?! What, did your dad teach you German?! 3-E never taught us German!"

Asano: "Actually, I don't know German either, but hey, who cares. All I care is that you didn't remember any of it,"

Chiba: "I swear, shut the f—,"

WisdomPearl: "Reshooting in five!...,"

[Take Two]

Chiba: "Nicht Jedi—,"

Nagisa: "This isn't a Star Wars Crossover,"

Chiba: "Shit,"

—

(The Phoenix's Fall)

Chiba: "He walked towards me and adjusted my bow slightly to the left,"

Nagisa: "...,"

Karma: "Oi! Earth to Nagisa! Flat-Kayano Theory to Nagisa!"

Nagisa: "Huh?"

Kayano: "Hey! Karma, you better get back here!"

WisdomPearl: "Wait, Kayano! You're not in this chapter! Get off!"

(So, now I'm doing the computer, so the scene changes will be[])

[]

(The Stallion Meets the Phoenix)

Karma: "Honestly, your mouth contains more spit than the oceans have water. If you wanted to know if Prince Nagisa was here or not, you could've asked at least. Save some time. And I thought you were tired?"

Nagisa: "Damn, Asano, what are you going to say?"

Asano: "What the...THAT'S NOT ON THE SCRIPT, NAGISA!"

Nagisa: "Hey, just wanted to say something. Director, we're reshooting it now, right?"

WisdomPearl: "Yeah, in five...,"

[]

 **THANKS FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR! I'LL NOW BE WRITING THE MAIN STORY!**


	11. The Dragon's Teacher

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE BLOOPERS FOR A WHILE NOW, SO NOW I'LL BE FOCUSING ON THE MAIN STORY, OR AT LEAST TRY TO, WITH A FEW MORE ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS AND WHAT NOT.**

 **[]**

[Third Person POV]

Korosen-Sensei chuckled at the prince's flustered face, "Yes, yes, Prince Nagisa only does drastic things for people he likes. Around others, he's very self-centered. Hard to see in such a cute face. Behind that cute face lies a beast full of bloodlust,"

"I can do without the cute, thank you very much," Karma looked over to where Nagisa laid, only to see the blue-haired prince sitting up and glaring at the tall brunette, "I would advise you not to talk about me when I'm 'sleeping', lest I slash at you,"

"Really? You think you can beat me? You couldn't stop the alpha wolf, and we both know that I'm so much stronger than a measly alpha wolf,"

"At least the wolf doesn't talk smack,"

"At least I teach you how to get better,"

Nagisa growled and drew his dagger. In a flash, it was gone. Karma whirled around, pressing his fingers to his neck to make sure it wasn't pinned there again, but it was in the hands of Korosen-Sensei. He threw it around in circles, laughing a strange laugh, "I'm afraid that your action of openly drawing your crucial weapon will result in your defeat,"

Nagisa smirked and cocked his head to the side for a moment, "Who said that dagger was my crucial weapon?"

"Eh?"

Nagisa was drawing out his second dagger when Korosen-Sensei was talking, and so he got up and struck the man, resisting the pain in his side. The man struck out to block, launching the prince backwards. Before he hit the wall, he did a backflip and sprung up, but still hit the wall with great force. Korosen-Sensei laughed mockingly, "You're stronger than you look, but you seem to be taking that too much to heart. I'll take a wild guess, a shot in the dark, and say that you're in pain because the injuries in your side, eh? Nyuhuhuhuhuhuhu~,"

The Dragon Prince clenched his side and snarled, "What makes you think that?!"

"You're holding your injured side,"

Nagisa flinched and struck out at the man again, this time, using the dodge to his advantage and twisting to the back, scraping Korosen-Sensei's side, "There. You happy now?"

"I'm surprised that you didn't aim for the middle of my back,"

"What, you want to die?"

"Like you'd kill me,"

"So you were expecting me to stab you in the back?"

"You could,"

"What if I don't want to?"

Korosen-Sensei smirked, "Oh? So you care about me?"

"Not like you think!"

"Then why didn't you stab me in the back?"

Now it was Nagisa's turn to smirk, "What if I still want to keep someone around to tease and attack without them freaking out or dying on me? Like the other one did,"

Karma finally started to speak after his voice failed on him, "What other one?"

Prince Nagisa's smirk changed to a scowl as he thought about that "other one", "A traitor. A person whom I thought I could lend my trust on, only to find out that he was going to use that trust against me and try to claim my throne. After he tried to surprise attack me, well, I sorta banished him from the kingdom,"

Karma was confused when Prince Nagisa said "sorta banished", so he decided to question it, "What do you mean, 'sorta banished'?"

"Oh I killed him. I think you know the story, so I'll just let your imagination and knowledge take over. You're also known for your incredible intelligence, but hey, the rumors about you being the strongest prince wasn't true, so I can't tell,"

Karma bared his canine fangs in anger, "Well, I'm the strongest prince of the Phoenix Kingdom!"

"You're the only prince of the Phoenix Kingdom!"

Karma flinched and prepared himself to fight Nagisa when Korosen-Sensei butted in, "How about we take this outside? Nature is a better place to train and besides, I don't want you making a mess of my cabin. Like you, Prince Nagisa, who made a dent in my wall,"

"Says the person who threw me against the wall!" Korosen-Sensei just laughed and ushered them out, "Alright, now let me paint a picture while the two of you are fighting,"

Even Nagisa didn't know this side of Korosen-Sensei, "Wait, you paint?" the two princes chorused in unison. After they realized what happened, they looked at each other with wonder and confusion. The tall brunette laughed again, laughing his weird laugh, "Now go fight outside,"

The Phoenix Prince tried to resist Korosen-Sensei's strong push, but his strength was no match for the brunette's strength, "Wait, wait, wait! You're pushing us to fight?!"

Korosen-Sensei chuckled, "Yes, both literally and metaphorically,"

[]

"Karma? Are you ready?"

Karma smirked, "What kind of killer asked their victim if they're ready?"

"What, you want me to kill you?"

Karma sighed and looked down, "Whatever, let's just get this over wi-,"

Prince Nagisa was already ahead of him and cut a hole in the shoulder part of his suit. He briefly gasped and tried to block his second blow with his dagger and succeeding, but Nagisa had already freed a hand and was blindly fumbling for a second dagger in his cloak, to which Karma answered by pushing back from Nagisa. He figured that he'd rather let Nagisa pull the dagger out while Karma was further away from the bluenette rather than not know when he successfully pulled the blade out, lest Prince Nagisa attack the redhead without his knowledge.

But along with that dagger, something else was pulled out and leaking from Nagisa.

Bloodlust.

(Karma's POV)

It was scary, feeling that thickened aura wrap around me and choke me on air. Bloodlust was something that I couldn't fully control, so I stayed as chill as possible. Besides, my bloodlust isn't as bad as the Dragon Prince.

You see, within the Dragon royalty family line, they pass down their name, blood, and bloodlust. It's common sense, something even newborns know. It can be seen as the scariest bloodlust in all four kingdoms. Even my strength is no match for the pipsqueak when he gets the bloodlust all around him. So to feel that bloodlust leak out of Nagisa now of all times, well that would petrify any normal person. To make things scarier, he doesn't even care about his injuries that were given by an old and experienced dying alpha wolf. He doesn't flinch or scream. He just, kills.

It's hard to believe the rumors spreading like wildfire about me being the scariest prince in all four kingdoms when there's the Dragon Prince. Like, how am I supposed to compete with that?! If looks could kill, I would've been dead and buried when we first met in that snowstorm. Now I have to deal with this reoccurring problem of Nagisa possibly killing me in my sleep for a year. A year. Stupid tradition.

Why are there even rumors about me being strong against Nagisa? He can shoot a bow perfectly without any flaws and he's pinned a dagger to my throat twice now and it hasn't even been a week! He's killed King and Queen Akabane along with the two ringleaders of the poisoning of Queen Hiromi, and that doesn't even start the long list of people he's killed. And who have I killed?

No one. Not one soul. I haven't taken anyone's life yet.

I've threatened to many times. But I've never been provoked enough to actually kill a living, breathing human being.

And here we are, pushed out here to fight by what seems to be Nagisa's teacher in almost everything and he's already cut a hole in my shirt. Prince Nagisa threw the dagger at the tree right next to me, so close that if he'd aimed closer, he would've struck a hold in my head, "What are you doing, spacing out again? Come on, fight!"

It felt like Nagisa had two sides, an alter ego. Nagisa the caring and healing prince who's fascinated about everything. And then there's Prince Nagisa the ruthless, sadistic, bloodlusted murderer. And I'm now fighting a Prince Nagisa, not a person you'd want to meet in a dark, enchanted forest. I weakly dodged another dagger thrown at my arm, narrowly dodging a painful experience for my left arm.

I decided to go for defensive and then switch to offensive when it feels right and safe for me to do so. So I blocked and dodged his daggers that, may I add, effortlessly pulled out of the tree despite it been very deep in the tree because of how hard he threw it into the tree. Occasionally, he'd pull away from the battle to think about a new strategy to counter my defense, to which I kick him hard in the stomach, risking the chance that he'd have a dagger there, ready to cut my foot off. But nothing drastic like that has happened, so I think my strategy is doing well.

Nagisa smiled a scornful smile with a hint of a genuine smile, "Heh, I can see that you've found a strategy good enough to hold me back and hurt me bit by bit. But can you take on my true self, filled to the brim with bloodlust, Oh, Great Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom?"

"I don't like it when people say that name, but if you insist...,"

Nagisa laughed maniacally for a little bit, "Great Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom, heir to the Great King Sugawara Akabane, he who's feared by all of the Phoenix Kingdom, eldest prince of the four kingdoms of Latia (lay-she-uh)! He who has been a great challenger to Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom!" He used his dagger to lift Karma's chin slightly, only to pull it away, nearly leaving a mark on his lower chin.

"Honestly, Nagisa, has the wolf made you mad? You're acting delirious and cocky for someone like you!"

"Me?! Delirious and cocky?! You should be saying the same for yourself!" Yeah, that alpha wolf did something to Nagisa's brain, definitely. Korosen-Sensei saw the tension rising from me and quickly rushed Nagisa out, holding him by the waist as the bluenette kicked and punched and raised a fit,"I command you to put me down! Now! Put. Me. Down! this is an order, get your filthy hands off of me!"

The tall brunette sighed as he strongly pressed a kicking Nagisa down on the couch, "I sensed this power from the alpha wolf, but I thought Nagisa would fight this back. Unfortunately, his bloodlust weakened his willpower. I've read of wolves, and I found one quite interesting,"

I felt my eyes brighten somehow, "Please, enlighten me,"

Korosen-Sensei smiled and looked out the window, "The Werewolf's Descendants. Legend has it that one powerful werewolf fell in love with a regular wolf even though they both knew that their love is forbidden. They soon had kids in a cave, half wolf, half werewolf. This made them 75% wolf and 25% human, so only their wolf traits show. But their human knowledge stays, making them even more dangerous. They are usually alphas of a pack, and old ones at that. If not, they are the betas, but never under that. When they are the betas, they try to secretly kill the alpha so that they become alpha. This is sadistic, but it's in their blood,"

It's in their blood. Reminds me an awful lot about Nagisa, but I still had questions, "So how does this negatively and psychologically affect Nagisa? He seemed too delirious and sadistic to even be close to Nagisa. Sure, we've had a couple of fights, but not one like this one where he would cut a hole in my arm unless I dodge. He's too kind for that,"

"You're right, he seems too delirious for him to be Prince Nagisa. This Werewolf Descendant, who is named Shiro, is a particularly difficult one to fight, and he's only the youngest one in his family. He's also the weakest one in the family, but he still ripped up Nagisa's side and used his miasma to infect him psychologically, so you can only imagine how dangerous his older brothers are,"

"How long will it take for Nagisa to heal?"

Korosen-Sensei sighed and looked at the struggling prince in his grip, "Hard to say. It depends on how severe the damage is. By how severe Nagisa is acting and his neglect of his injuries, I'd say at least a week or so,"

"A week?! What will the others say?!"

"Just say that he's visiting someone else and staying there a for while. You won't reveal the details and you won't lie. Meanwhile, I'll be doing my best to heal Prince Nagisa up as much as possible so that he will return sooner,"

"But I need to stay with Nagisa!"

Korosen-Sensei raised an eyebrow slightly and I swear his eyes sparkled for a split second, "Whatever is your reason for doing so, young prince?"

For a minute, I was at a loss for words. Then, boldly but meekly, I replied, "Because I love Nagisa,"

"And that means...?"

I felt frustration boil up in me. What's the deal with all of the questions? Of course, I wasn't going to let that get to me, so I answered his second question, "That means I have to take care of him whenever he's in pain, no matter how much he declines the fact. That means that I love him no matter how mad we get. That means that I support his decisions but also express my opinion freely to him whenever we disagree. That means I love him no matter what he says to me. It means that we care for each other. Are happy now?" I snarled the last sentence, but the teacher seemed to ignore that, "Good answer, Prince Karma. I'll let you take care of Prince Nagisa while he's staying here. Now go get a ink and quill and paper and write a short letter for your friends in the castle,"

"Why can't you do it?"

"Do you want a berserk Nagisa running around? Unless you are strong enough to hold Nagisa down despite all of his strength that was bottle up for years is released, you have to write it,"

The man had a point, so I grabbed a bottle of ink that was on its side on the spruce desk. I took an old looking piece of paper that was yellowed around the edges and wrote with a ruffled up feather for a quill. The ink was a shiny gold, which pleased me.

[]

(Chiba's POV)

It was awfully quiet in the dining room without Karma and Prince Asano bickering over the little things and Nagisa talking about his life to me as I quietly nod. Prince Asano and I just sat there awkwardly, not knowing whether or not we should talk of their absence. Ever since they met, strange things have been going on. Karma has been getting more tense around Nagisa, but he hides it well. Nagisa, well, he's full of mysteries that he has yet to explain, "Is it just me, or is it that they've been gone for two hours. I mean, what if they had gotten kidnapped? Karma, with those rumors going around, is lucky a price isn't on his head. Nagisa is prime kidnapping material, meek boy, slender and feminine figure, all of the things that kidnappers look for," Prince Asano blankly said, picking at his nails.

I spoke up, Prince Asano obviously wrong and outdated about the two, "No, I'm afraid that you've gotten it all wrong, Prince Asano. Karma hasn't killed anyone before. Yes, he has threatened to kill, but has never killed. The only reason for him getting kidnapped is that he's too cocky for their good. Nagisa, on the other hand, is the only one that should have a bounty on his head if he wasn't the only royal prince of the Dragon Kingdom. He's killed royalty and two young boys about our age. They had a reason for being killed, but I know Nagisa. He wouldn't do something that rash just because they deserved it. It's something more serious, something darker. You don't think that Nagisa would actually spill out every single one of his secrets, do you? He thinks that he has, but really, he's hiding darker things in between those lines,"

Prince Asano tipped his head up, thinking, "Yeah, you're right Bangs," I grumbled, "It's Prince Chiba...,"

"Prince Chiba, Prince Bangs, whatever it is, we need to find them. Where's Itona and Nakamura?"

"I already asked them. They don't know either, and they are looking for them, but no trace of them was found,"

"Doesn't snow leave footprints?"

"There was a window open in Nagisa's room, but the snow has already covered any footprints. I can confirm that they might've left overnight and went somewhere, but I can't confirm that they came back and are just in another part of the castle or they stayed somewhere else,"

Prince Asano leaned his chair back until it was only on two legs, "Whatever, despite how cocky Prince Karma is and how feminine Prince Nagisa can be, I think that they can manage just fine on their own. Prince Karma is a great actor since he's been acting his whole entire life, acting like he was all fine and dandy even after his parents' deaths and realizing that it was Prince Nagisa that killed him. Prince Nagisa is the exact definition of a ruthless killer, so he's good to go for at least a month. We're here because of the stupid tradition, what was the name?"

"The Hiromi Truce,"

"Yeah, that thing. What am I good at? Eating the world's stock of food. You...I'd say be quiet and secluded, but I don't know about you,"

"I'd say the same,"

Then I suddenly had an idea click in my head, "I heard that there was an old cabin in the woods. Maybe they went there,"

"So?" Prince Asano leaned further.

"We can go there! I don't know the woods like the back of my hand, but I've got a pretty good eyesight to seen things well and clear,"

Prince Asano fell backwards off of his chair, "What?! Are you crazy?! We can't have all four princes go out to the middle of nowhere; that's wreak havoc in all four corners of Latia!"

"It's the only thing that seems right!"

Then we heard a _thunk_ sound in the dining room stained glass window, like a rock hit it. I walked over to the window, the strawberry blonde prince still on the ground from the fall. It was s snowy owl with a message attached to its collar. Prince Asano shakily stood up and walked over to me, wondering what happened, "Oh, its a carrier owl. Makes sense, since a pigeon would never make it in this snowstorm. Here, let's look at the message. It could be from Karma and Nagisa,"

Hearing their names, I immediately ripped the paper out, leaving a small tear at the top, but that didn't matter. All that matter was the message on the paper.

 _Prince Chiba and Prince Asano,_

 _I'm sorry if we have caused you any worry. I'm glad to say that we are safe and in a secluded area. Prince Nagisa is unable to write for now, so I'll be the one to write everything. We are in a cabin in the woods if you so wish to visit us, though this snowstorm isn't the most pleasant storm we've had around Latia. The cabin is about half a mile into the south part of the forest. You shouldn't miss the spruce logs in this white snow._

 _We'll be here for about a week or less, depending on the circumstances. Don't forget to inform the servants of our departure and your departure if you do wish to find us._

 _We're sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused in the Phoenix Castle and anywhere else. We'll try not to do it again, though, with Nagisa's personality and secrets, that may be hard to maintain, so I won't promise you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Prince Karma_

"Ow! Bird brain...,"

 _P.S. The bird bites._

"Could've told us earlier," Prince Asano grumbled as the owl flew away, leaving the yellowed paper with us. I folded the paper carefully and put it in my pocket, "Let's go inform the servants of our departure and their departure,"

"Wait, you're going? I don't wanna go...,"

"Too bad, you're coming anyways. I can't have you roam the castle without supervision. You might eat up the entire kitchen, pots and all,"

"That's your concern?"

"Money doesn't grow on trees. Even if Prince Karma is extremely wealthy, it'd be rude to waste a lot of money. I wouldn't think he'd be too happy with you. You two already have a bad enough relationship anyways, so let's not let that break down anymore,"

"Fine...I'll come...,"  
[]

 **THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER SO FAR, SO I'M STOPPING THE CHAPTER HERE AND CONTINUING THE STORY FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER SINCE IT'S GETTING LONGER THAN THE PHOENIX'S FALL.**

 **YOUR SELF-CONSCIOUS BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	12. The Dragon Gone Insane

**I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THOSE READERS WHO HAVE BEEN SHOWING UP IN MY STORY TRAFFIC CHART! YOU REALLY INSPIRE ME TO KEEP GOING EVEN IF I DON'T GET ANY REVIEWS! THANK YOU SO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!**

[]

(Nagisa's POV)

I-I can't feel a thing. I can't control my body-

 _ **GOOD.**_

 _What? Who are you?_

 _ **YOUR BLOODLUST.**_

 _No, that's not bloodlust. It smells strange, like a wild animal's husky scent. Are you what the alpha wolf put on me?_

 _ **YOU'RE SMART. I'VE WONDERED WHY MY MASTER WANTED YOU OF ALL PEOPLE. I SEE NOW.**_

 _See what? What are you talking about?! Get out of my head and let me control myself!_

 _ **NOT UNTIL MY MASTER TELLS ME OTHERWISE OR I AM BANISHED.**_

 _How do we banish you?_

 _ **WE? WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A WE? HAH, MAYBE YOU AREN'T AS SMART AS WE THOUGHT.**_

 _Honestly, what is it with pronouns nowadays? Everyone loves using them without stating what it represents. It makes me mad._

 _ **MAD? OH, GET MAD ALL YOU WANT. BUT THAT'LL ONLY MAKE ME FLING YOUR LITTLE BODY AROUND LIKE A WET RAG BECAUSE YOU'VE GONE MAD.**_

 _What are you talking about?!_

 _ **LIKE I'D TELL YO-GAH! IT BURNS!**_

 _What does?_

 _ **NO! NOT THE WATER!**_

 _What are you, a fire? You can't touch water?_

 ** _NO, THIS IS-ARGHH-SPECIALLY TREATED WATER FOR-AGHHH-BANISHING ME!_**

 _Good. I want full control over my body._

 _ **NO!**_

 _I'll take a wild guess and say that your master is that alpha wolf? Well guess what? He's dead. I killed him._

 ** _I'M PERFECTLY AWARE OF THAT-AGHH!_**

 _That means the only way to gain control of my body from you is to banish you._

 _ **WAIT! PLEAS-**_

I didn't hear anymore from this strange entity. From what I could see, I was bathing in specially treated water by someone who I'd rather not be naked and bathed by.

Karma.

"Heh, I didn't realize how small you are without the largeness of your suit," Karma snickered. I decided to set the playfulness aside and get serious.

"What happened? All I remember is the wolf attacking me, and then I blacked out...,"

"Can I be certain that you're Nagisa and not Fukitsu?"

"Fukitsu? Who the hell is that? The ominous voice in my head that talks about a master and whatnot?"

"I still can't tell if you're Fukitsu, since he does have a knack for acting very well. He nearly fooled Korosen-Sensei until he slipped up by saying his real name and not Nagisa,"

"So what proof do you need?!"

Karma leaned over close to my face. I felt blood rush up to my face as his warm breath tickled my sensitive skin. He cupped my face in his hands and gave me a small kiss on the lips. I blushed even harder, but Karma seemed to be satisfied with his results, "Yep, I can conclude that you are, in fact, Nagisa and not Fukitsu! I know that no one can blush as hard as you when around me like that~,"

I pushed him away, "Shut up and get me my clothes,"

"Oh, but I haven't finished rinsing your back~,"

I swear that swoony voice will be the death of me, "Fine...,"

"Yay!~,"

He scrubbed my back with a rough towel before he set it down and pulled me upright out of the basin. He then pulled a bigger towel made of the small material out of god knows where and began drying my body. When he got too handsy on sensitive parts because it pleased him when I flinched or did something that looked cute to him, I'd deliver a punch to his chest hard enough to send him flying across the bathroom. When he got handsy on the lower parts, I flung him across the bathroom, "I swear to god Karma!"

"Aww, but it's worth your cute face~,"

"What the heck, did the perverted side of you take over the serious side?"

"What if I am being serious about you right now?"

"That's not what I was implying!"

"I know, but I'm being serious about my feelings for you,"

I say his playful smile turn to a serious look as he looked down at me, "I love you Nagisa. Don't ever forget that. Please,"

He hugged my towel wrapped self tightly, not touching my ass or whatever parts that I thought he'd touch even if he tried as hard as he could. I was surprised, but I hugged him back on instinct, "I love you too, Karma,"

He pulled away, "Korosen-Sensei said that Fukitsu will come back, only to be banished again, gone forever. But you have to let this attack get you. Relax. That's what he said. But one thing," I felt those cold, amber eyes glare at me with 100 percent seriousness as he clutched the sides of my arms, "Don't let him take over your bloodlust no matter what. If you do, you could become a dangerous weapon unstoppable by mankind. It'll be too dangerous, and...," He stopped at that last part and I knew what he was implying.

I hugged him back, my wet head digging into Karma's side (not the abs because that'd hurt), "I promise,"

He smiled and continued to dry me up. He handed me my clothes and let me dress myself. The cuts and clawed out rips in the clothing made by the wolf were neatly stitched by Karma, I knew this mainly because some of the stitches are a bit messier than Korosen-Sensei's, but they worked at least.

I headed out and laid back down on the couch. I don't know what this Fukitsu did to my body, but I feel so tired. So I decided to sleep and get some energy back so that I can get back to the castle as soon as possible.

I probably shouldn't have, but the sooner the better, I guess.

 _ **HAH! FOOL! YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONE FOREVER?!**_

 _No, actually, but if you insist that to be true..._

I had to give in to this madman, otherwise, I'd be breaking Karma's promise.

[]

(Karma's POV)

I brushed the bangs covering Nagisa's closed eyes. I was about to lean in for another small kiss when I heard a soft knock at the cabin door, "Hey, it's Prince Chiba and Prince Asano,"

"Coming,"

I let the two in. Since Korosen-Sensei was going out to buy some medicine and things to banish Fukitsu in town, I shushed the two and signaled that Nagisa was sleeping. They obeyed and quietly sat down on the couch adjacent to the one Nagisa was asleep on. I checked if Fukitsu had come back to haunt Nagisa, and the charts seem to point at yes. He was sweating and murmuring words that showed that he was trying to let the entity attack him, but apparently the thing was teasing him instead. Maybe it was waiting for the perfect time to strike. Or maybe...

Waiting for him to leak even a drop of his bloodlust.

I hadn't thought about that. This thing had a mind of it's own. It was practically the soul of Shiro. it has human knowledge and knows how to tease and attack a human. This is dangerous. I don't want to put Nagisa down when his bloodlust leaks to Fukitsu. I can barely bring myself to even hurt him just a bit, let alone kill him. I held my head in my hands, trying to shake the horrible imagery and thought out of my head. Soon, after mental screaming, it left and I was back to checking Nagisa's health.

Heartbeat is a little bit faster than usual, probably due to the mental torture. His breathing is rapid, same reason as his fast heartbeat. Combine those symptoms with the immense sweating, even in the middle of winter, and you've got a recipe for being tense. I could tell that he was trying to provoke the beast, but Fukitsu wasn't giving in. Tiny tears began to well up in the corner of Nagisa's eyes. I rushed to brush them away with my finger when suddenly he jumps up and struggles around, "No! No! NO! I won't give in! I refuse!"

I knew that this wasn't Nagisa speaking, so I ignored his words and pinned him down. When would Korosen-Sensei get here? I know that town is far, but he should at least hurry it up! "Prince Chiba, Prince Asano! Help me pin Nagisa down! I don't think I can hold him down this much longer...," I screamed at the two startled princes. Immediately and without hesitation, Prince Chiba pinned down Nagisa' shoulders and Asano held down his thrashing legs. I threw half of my body down to hold Nagisa' torso down. Prince Chiba also held down his arms when he started flailing his arms around, trying to hit or slap someone, "GET OFF OF ME! Get...off!"

With every excruciatingly long minute came Nagisa's, or Fukitsu's, immense power and strength. Gladly, I tossed his cloak to the side, somewhere only Korosen-Sensei and I know where it is so Nagisa doesn't reach for his weapons if he does manage to thrash himself out of our grasps.

Then I forgot that he kept a spare dagger in his boot. Gladly enough, Chiba held his arms down whenever he tried to reach for the tiny dagger hidden in his boot, so we were safe for now. When would Korosen-Sensei get back? If Fukitsu tires out Nagisa's body like this, it's most likely that it'll feel like hell to Nagisa when he regains control of his body again.

Then Korosen-Sensei came in, wielding a woven basket full of herbs and pills and things like that. But what enraged me even more was his calmness towards this drastic situation, "Hey! We kinda have a bullshitty problem here!"

"Yes, yes, do not rush, I'll have this done in no time. Just hold him down a little longer, okay?"

"JUST HURRY UP WE DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY LIKE NAGISA DOES!" All three of us alive and well princes screamed, grateful that a herd of townspeople haven't stampeded down to witness all of the commotion. Nagisa thrashed harder and harder, "NO! Karma, don't hurt me...! Please, it'll hurt!"

! used all of his willpower to fight back Nagisa's pleas, "No, Nagisa, you'll feel better than ever after this treatment. Just hang on-,"

"I DON'T WANT TO FEEL ANYMORE PAIN!"

"No, it's fine. Just this once, please...,"

"NO!"

I decided that fighting back wouldn't do much good to getting Fukitsu out of Nagisa's body so I resisted the pleads coming from Nagisa's lips and held him down harder. Korosen-Sensei finally shoved some random herbs in Nagisa's mouth and pushing them down his throat, making him swallow it. Nagisa coughed but eventually choked down the plants. His thrashes got less powerful with every treatment Korosen-Sensei forced into the blue-haired prince. He went from bare herbs to pill to poultice. Eventually, all struggles left Nagisa, so we loosened his grip but prepared for a sort of panic attack. Prince Asano sighed in relief, "So, all of the shit is over now?"

Korosen-Sensei answered before I could even begin to think about opening my mouth, "Yes. Fukitsu the Werewolf Descendant's Aura is banished forever,"

So that's what Fukitsu was. A Werewolf Descendant's Aura. To be more specific, Shiro's Aura. Now it was gone.

I felt hot tears roll down my face. I constantly wiped the tears with the sleeve of my suit but I stopped when I ran out of places to wipe and just let them run. They were happy tears. We didn't have to kill Nagisa. We saved him, "Nagisa...you awake?"

Nagisa stirred in his sleep, not wanting to wake up but sensing that he was well and alive. I dipped my head towards Korosen-Sensei, "Thank you, Korosen-Sensei, for taking care of Prince Nagisa,"

[]

(Third Person POV)

"You're most certainly welcome, and speaking of that, all of you are welcome to visit my cabin. But for now, Nagisa must rest here," He looked outside, "It's 3:15 in the afternoon. He'll be staying here for the night. Prince Karma can sleep on the other couch. As for the two of you, I can bring out folded and cushioned blankets for you to rest on. I'm sorry that I don't have anything fit for four princes; I didn't expect all four princes of Latia to come here and stay overnight, but I'm afraid that Prince Nagisa needs to rest overnight to replenish his energy and fully recover from the aura attack. I didn't expect Fukitsu to attack that hard when he came back. I hope Nagisa didn't take his taunts to heart,"

"Thank you again, Korosen-Sensei," the three princes slightly dipped their heads at the taller brunette, to which he replied with a raise of his right hand and a shake of his head, "No need for honorifics in my cabin here. I'm sure Prince Nagisa understands. Say all of the improper things you need, but be sure to use them in your castle life. Cabin life though, think of it as a vacation away from all of those tutoring lessons,"

"Alright then, I'm down for that!" Asano quickly took in Korosen-Sensei's words. He turned to look at Prince Karma, "Hey, Prince Chiba and I have been wondering for a bit about something,"

"Yeah, about what?"

"Why is your neck wrapped in bandages?"

Karma forgot about the bandages covering the cut Nagisa made. (it's been five fricking chapters and you just now realize?), "Oh...just an accident...,"

Prince Chiba looked suspicious of him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Karma took one of the blankets that Korosen-Sensei passed out and made himself comfortable on the crimson couch that matched his hair. The other two princes folded the quilts into a comfortable makeshift bed when the brunette lugged the quilts out for them. Prince Chiba looked at Korosen-Sensei, "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I sleep at my desk," He then headed to the desk where he presumably slept at night. The strawberry blonde and the black-haired prince slept soundly throughout the night. But Karma had trouble sleeping for some reason. He just didn't feel like sleeping.

He knew that Nagisa would be safe and sound. They were in a safe place. No more wolves would come to attack them at night, and even if they did, they would know. But then why couldn't he sleep?

It wasn't that he couldn't sleep without holding Nagisa since he had done so before in the past. He just couldn't grasp the truth of why he couldn't fall asleep. Perhaps he just didn't want to sleep just yet. Yeah, let's just go with that. Karma just doesn't want to sleep yet.

 _ **I love you too, Karma.**_

That was it. He could just think about Nagisa's lovely voice. that'd make him sleep.

 _ **It lures, attacks, and kills before you could even finish your thoughts.**_

Nevermind. Just think about the good parts.

 _ **I love you too, Karma.**_

There we go.

[]

[Morning, 5:30]

(Karma's POV)

I woke up, the sun still not up yet, but rising just barely. The cold air nipped at my face, threatening to numb it. I wondered my the air was cold and then I looked at the fireplace. It was sputtering sparks, like it was dying.

The door.

Someone opened it.

I looked at the other couch. No Nagisa. Prince Chiba and Asano was still sleeping soundly. I guess Prince Chiba got used to waking up later than usual without having to take care of Setsuko in just a few days.

But where had Nagisa gone?

I hoped that Nagisa walked out the cabin door on his own free will and not forced out in the cold.

"You're getting rusty, my prince,"

"I thought we dropped the honorifics,"

"I still must address royalty, shouldn't I?"

Korosen-Sensei and Nagisa's voice! So Nagisa is okay after all, probably training outside since the cabin is no place to fight. So I decided to sneak out and hide behind a tree that's still within earshot of the two. I could learn a thing or two about Nagisa and Korosen-Sensei. I just have to be sneaky since Nagisa has extraordinary powers that I couldn't comprehend. Thankfully, the bluenette didn't hear me shuffle behind a tree. Nor did Korosen-Sensei.

I heard another swish of a knife cutting through the air, which I assumed was from Nagisa due to Korosen-Sensei's mocking laugh, "You'll have to try harder, Prince Nagisa,"

"Not my fault that you know me like you know the back of my hand,"

"But that shouldn't hinder your performance,"

"All of the targets you've assigned to me...they don't recognize me, so it's easier,"

"So you're saying that if I didn't know who you were, you'd perform better at attacking me?"

"Hypothetically, if the ideal conditions were met and my plans were to go smoothly,"

"But those conditions are hard to meet. Learn how to build a small fire, but you can't build a big fire with the knowledge of making a small fire, can you? You can't restrict yourself to people you don't know to people you do know to make your performance weaken. Broaden your spectrum. Get used to attacking people you know. I thought you did pretty well attacking Prince Karma the other day,"

"That was when I was out of my mind from Fukitsu,"

"Fukitsu can't just create energy out of thin air. He has to use your strengths and energy to attack. More importantly, even a drop of bloodlust. But you managed quite well even if you were out of your mind,"

I peeked slightly from behind the tree. Nagisa was trying to attack Korosen-Sensei as they spoke, "About me attacking people I know...,"

"Yes?"

"Will you ever make me kill Karma?" Sadness dripped from his words at the thought. I froze and slipped back behind the tree.

"Of course not. I only appoint you criminals to kill, and there haven't been any recently. Nowhere in all of Latia is there a trace of criminal activity. But if Karma does somehow become a criminal worthy of death, which is highly unlikely, I'll come to save him from the very thought,"

"How? Karma is pretty ruthless when he's in his ideal location,"

"By reminding him of you,"

 ** _I love you too, Karma._**

 ** _I love you too, Karma._**

 ** _I love you too, Karma._**

Just five words, seven syllables. But those measly, everyday words that were put together, had so much impact on me. I felt a warm glow in my heart hearing Nagisa's words echo in my head.

I would never become a criminal. Just for you, Nagisa.

Just for you.

Nagisa took another slash towards Korosen-Sensei's direction, only to have him dodge it narrowly. Nagisa inhaled and exhaled to calm down, "Dammit, can't even land a hit on you,"

"You wouldn't want me dead, would you?"

"Nah, I'd like having a skilled expert to fight against every once in a while. Though it's nice sometimes to fight someone else. Different strategy, different skillset, different outcomes. It's fun when I get to fight a variety of personalities,"

So it's all just a game to Nagisa, huh?

Nagisa spoke again, suspending the fight by standing up straight instead of in a battle stance, "Take Karma for example. He's a combat assassin, taking hits and hits without falling, landing strong blows to your weak points, and reacting quickly to some extent. Of course, he's slow when you use the element of surprise. But take him on straightforwardly and your fight belongs to him," I felt another glow in my heart as well as in my face.

"And Prince Asano. He's reckless and arrogant most of the time, and a big eater. But he takes his fighting moves to a whole new level. He uses whatever he can to win the fight, whether it be brute force or with weapons drawn into the equation. Prince Chiba likes to stay in the shadows and strike when the time is right. When conditions are starting to get unfavorable, he pulls back until they are to his liking,"

"And Prince Nagisa of the Dragon Kingdom, how would you describe yourself as a fighter?"

Nagisa hesitated, "I can't say, since I don't observe myself too much,"

"Focus on yourself before you focus on the others. Your most prized possession isn't that family photo you have, your most treasured item is you. Treasure it with your life, literally. Lose it and you die,"

Nagisa nodded. So many thoughts went through my head.

So Nagisa is appointed by Korosen-Sensei to kill criminals every once in a while and he likes to observe others' actions and possibly use it against them. And his most treasured item is a family picture, perhaps because of his father. Ever since Nagisa' father left, he's been down a whole lot. He's grown cold and distant. Then when his mother was murdered, he snapped.

Like, really snapped.

Snapped from kind and caring to cold and murderous. Sweet and nice to mysteriously powerful and dangerous. Innocent to trouble.

But that doesn't matter. I love Nagisa, and he seems to feel the same.

 _ **I love you too, Karma.**_

Korosen-Sensei dodged three more blows and a tackle before Nagisa tackled him from behind with alarming speed, "Gotcha,"

Korosen-Sensei's muscles tensed at the surprise attack, but then relaxed into the earthy forest floor, sighing happily and laughing softly, "It seems that the student beat the teacher on a test," The brunette pushed Nagisa back, freeing himself, "But the student must surpass the teacher with multiple feats of success, not just one. One is easily forgotten, but many can leave an impact to your future, depending on the good ones and the bad ones,"

Nagisa smiled and nodded, "I think the princes should be awake by now if they weren't too tired pinning me down when Fukitsu took over my body and thrashed it around. I'll get my cloak from inside and leave. Thanks for taking and welcoming all of us into your cabin. I'm greatly obliged by your kindness,"

"No problem. Come back anytime, just make sure I'm home when you stop by,"

Oh shit! Nagisa was coming my direction! If he realized that I heard their conversation, there's no telling what he'll do to me!

I quickly ran into the cabin before Nagisa could round the corner. I quickly flopped back on the couch lazily and pretended to wake up as soon as Nagisa walked in.

"Oh, Karma. You're awake,"

"Yeah, I just woke up. What are you doing so early?" That statement seemed safe since it was now 5:55.

"Oh, just wanted to take a walk and warm-up a bit with Korosen-Sensei. We are leaving when the others wake up, right?"

"Whenever everyone is ready to leave, we'll leave,"

"Sounds good to me,"

I nudged Asano's head with my boot while Nagisa shook Prince Chiba's shoulder. They both woke up with a startled look, "Huh...? Wai...whaaa?"

"Get up sleeping beauties. We're heading home,"

Prince Chiba rubbed his eyes under his bangs and yawned, "Alright then...HEY! Prince Asano! Get up, stop hugging my arm like it's a comfort blanket. What are you, a baby? So much so that you need a comfort blanket of some sort?" The black-haired prince teased the strawberry blonde, who lazily sat up, "Oh, shut up Bangs. I'm awake, im awake,"

Nagisa punched the air, "Alright, let's get moving!"

[]

 **THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER HERE, SO THANKS FOR MAKING IT THROUGH. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR MAKING IT THIS FAR THROUGH MY WRITING JOURNEY, ALL 500+ VISITORS!**

 **YOUR INSPIRED BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	13. The Stallion's Father

{The Phoenix Castle}

(Asano's POV)

When we got back to the castle and I was ready to flop down onto that heavenly mattress and fall asleep, Isogai greeted them and informed them of someone's arrival, "Welcome back, your highnesses. I believe that someone has come to visit all four of you. You especially, Prince Asano,"

I exhaled and inhaled sharply. Who cared about me more than the other princes? Prince Nagisa was all-powerful, Prince Karma was pretty strong, and Prince Chiba was the sneaky type, always the one to appear out of nowhere and attack if you provoke him enough.

So who would want me? Out of all four princes, I'm the outcast. My animal or creature isn't a mythical creature and I don't have any good traits about me. All I have is a big stomach and an arrogant personality. So who would even want to see my face?

Unless...

"Hello, Prince Asano," (NUU THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A GREAT CLIFFHANGER FOR THE LAST CHAPTER but let's let it slide for now...)

The other princes gasped. I just stood there frozen like an idiot, "F-Father?"

"Yes, I'm King Asano,"

The other princes slightly bowed their heads while I stood there, straight as an arrow. My father turned to look at my pathetic self, "I've wanted to talk to you for some while, but apparently the birds are idiots and keep coming back without delivering the messages to you,"

Actually I sent them back without bothering because I was mad at Father at that time, but saying that wouldn't fare so well for me, so I kept quiet. Obviously, Father noticed this, "You're being awfully quiet nowadays, Prince Asano. What seems to trouble you today, son?"

"Wh-Why did you come here?" Father only smiled his blank smile.

"Oh, just to have a chat with you and your castlemates for the next year to come, nothing much, just wanted to chat a bit with you. I'm sorry I couldn't come home fast enough to see you out of the castle with so much as a goodbye, so I wanted to make up for it,"

Prince Karma genuinely smiled, "That sounds great. Here, we can sit here, in the sitting room,"

"That sounds nice," Was what I hearing actually my father? My father was actually accepting the offer? Last I heard, he was a ruthless tyrant. I just that trip around the kingdoms really changed him for the better, and that was good. Or maybe he was acting, I could never tell. He can act like an innocent person and then dismember you out of nowhere if you aggravate him. Or maybe he was just being polite because all four princes were here.

Father confuses me a lot.

"So," Father sat down, smiling that genuine smile at me, "How has your stay been?"

"Alright,"

"Have they been feeding you well?"

What? Excuse me? "Yeah, the food here is good," Have they been feeding me well? What kind of question is that to ask your son when they are visiting someone?

"Good," He turned to Prince Nagisa with the same reused smile, "Prince Nagisa, I heard about your mother. I'm very sorry,"

"Thanks for your consideration," Prince Nagisa slightly growled at the thought, but hid it from Father well enough. But my father obviously had to continue with this topic, "I heard you killed the perpetrators. How did that go?"

"I need to use the bathroom, excuse me," Prince Nagisa swiftly glided out of the sitting room, his face the face of bottled up frustration. Perhaps it was because everyone had to remind him of his mother's death and him killing the poisoners.

"Perhaps I went too far," You just now notice?!

Prince Karma changed the subject, "So, King Asano, how was your trip all over Latia?"

''I learned a lot, you could say, Prince Karma,"

"Please explain your experience. I love a good story,"

Father cleared his throat.

[]

(King Asano's POV)

Is Gakushū getting suspicious of me? I swear I've changed!

I've realized that my life decisions were bad. I'm sorry, son.

But I promise that I've gotten better. Please believe me.

Please.

"Well, I remember this one man who changed my life," Good, Gakushū was interested.

"As I was walking down this path, an old man and I met eyes for a second. He then fell over dangerously into a low bow. I told him to get up and asked him why we would risk such an injury. He said, 'I'd rather get hurt on my own than beaten by a king,' That when I realized that I may be too harsh, so I've decided to change my ways,"

"Interesting," Came a voice from the doorway. It was Prince Nagisa. He was leaning on the wall near the doorway, arms crossed, "But it seems too fake to me,"

He walked, loudly and proudly, over to a couch across from me. He sat down, propping his right leg onto his left leg and placing both hands over his knee. He glared those cold, turquoise eyes at me. Seriously, what's with the glares? "I don't want to be rude or anything of the sort, but it seemed too staged. There weren't any conflicts that could taint your record. For example, having the old man hurt his leg from the fall. That would ruin a bit of your reputation, but you didn't include that. You didn't mention any injuries happening so that you weren't completely lying. The situation seemed so sudden and comical, it felt too easy to exist purely. It felt like you either left some parts out, you lied, or you staged the entire thing,"

I sat there, dumbfounded by this little prince's evaluation, but I didn't have time to think, because he stopped to breath for a bit, "Also, why would a peasant insult a king of royalty by saying that you would beat him without any proof of you beating anyone. Sure, there are rumors about you beating peasants, but there are rumors about Prince Karma being a ruthless killer when in actuality, he's not all that ruthless in most conditions. Rumors are there to speculate about. Some are true, some are false, some are in the middle. I wouldn't say that I've killed thousands, but I never said that I killed no one," He stopped to breath again.

I could only blink and breath. This is an intelligent prince, able to twist his reality into multiple ways just to prove a simple point. As feminine as he looks, he can really pack a punch using his words like a man. He still wasn't done, "This was around the middle of your trip, am I right?"

"Yes, around the middle,"

"Judging by my calculations, this would mean that you were at the Dragon Kingdom around this point, correct?"

"Y-Yes...,"

"There is a rule in place to protect the elderly and people in need of medical help. May I be informed of the time at which you talked to this man?"

"A-Around 2:50...,"

"How old did the man look?"

"Hmm...mid-30s it seemed," (Life expectancy in the medieval ages was 35 years)

"Then you must of been lying about the whole experience, my king,"

Everyone exhaled and then inhaled quickly, showing their surprise. Prince Chiba spoke up, "Please tell us how you figured it out,"

Nagisa looked slightly to the side to look at the black-haired prince, his blue eyes still visible to me. His eyes flashed a deathly cerulean color as they glanced at me. He smiled slightly, not a genuine smile, but a mess-up-and-I'll-kill-you smile, those of an assassin or a sadistic psychopath. (*cough* *cough* Karma's smile when he tilted his head when Nagisa punched *cough* him in the face in the Karma VS Nagisa battle in*cough* *cough* Season Two Episode 18 *cough* *cough* Ack, my throat is dying...)

"There is a rule in place in the Dragon Kingdom: All elderly and people seeking medical attention will report to the Dragon Castle for medical attention at 2:45. The only public path for travelers and foreigners is on the opposite side of the Dragon Castle for safety purposes. Since you are the king of the Stallion Kingdom, you are only allowed to walk that public path, regardless of your stature or rank," Nagisa held up his index finger in the air as he was talking, "If the man was that far away, he would be disobeying the rules since they are to report straight to the castle. But no one dares to disobey the rules set in place because of the rumors that claim that the punishment is death. But really, I don't like killing people for silly matters. Blood isn't easy to wash off of clothes and I'm not sadistic. But those rumors have been floating around since the dawn of time so it's hard to reassure people. Because of this, I'm forced to just let them float around the four kingdoms,"

Nagisa put his finger down and looked down at his feet for a couple of seconds and then looked up to face me again, "So your experience didn't actually happen, since all of the elders were reported at the castle around that point like normal. They arrived in due time and no one was diverted in another direction. But please," Nagisa leaned in towards me, his dangerous glowing cyan eyes that bore into my soul glaring daggers at me. I swear, he could kill me in my sleep no matter where I was, "Tell us what actually happened,"

I hesitated. Do I really want to tell? Prince Nagisa shook his head, "Nevermind. I can tell that you feel uncomfortable about it,"

"W-Wait. How did you know?"

"It's easy to tell. You hesitated and your breathing got faster. Your eyes were full of regret and worry. You're like a book; I can read your actions pretty well,"

He stood up, "I'm going to take a walk outside. I need some fresh air, if you don't mind," He put the hood on his cloak on and walked swiftly out of the door. he was so short and the cloak was so long that I made he look like he was gliding over the floor, floating. He peeked his head back through the door, "Anyone coming?"

Everyone shook their heads so the bluenette left. Prince Chiba turned towards Prince Karma, "I thought you were going to go,"

"Why should I? He'll be fine. I guess he just wants some time alone. It's normal since he's still recovering slightly. Korose-er-someone, said that he'll need a bit more time to recover from you-know-what, so I'll leave him to do that,"

I was deeply intrigued, "What is he recovering from?"

"An injury," Was my immediate response from Gakushū. "What sort of injury?" I inquired.

"A serious injury," A growl escaped Prince Karma's lips combined with the snappy answer. I could tell that they weren't comfortable telling me, but I was so intrigued by it that I had an urge to push it out, "What kind of serious injury?"

"A serious, life-threatening injury!" Gakushū snapped back with a stronger snap than Prince Karma. "Well, what's the name of the injury?"

Prince Chiba rolled his eyes, "Massive injury beyond compare," I started to get tired of this little game so I stopped. I could probably push the truth out of Prince Nagisa when I get the chance.

[]

{The Phoenix Village}

(Nagisa's POV)

My side still ached from the wolf's teeth and claws. I wore the hood to cover my eyes and hair most of the time, but now, it was also to cover the wound on my neck made by that Werewolf Descendant, Shiro. I rubbed the wound slightly because it stung.

"There he is! That's him!"

I turned to see a boy around my age, slightly older, pointing accusingly at me. I pointed at myself and signaled with my body actions, asking if he was talking about me. He gave an immediate answer, "Yes! You! Murderer!"

I exhaled and inhaled quickly, showing my surprise. Did he figure out that I killed King and Queen Akabane? How? Did he see me? Shit, did I even close the fricking door when I did?! Everyone within earshot of his scream, which was about everyone, turned to look at me. I put on my hoarse voice so I could still disguise my identity, "Are sure that you're talking about me?"

Bad idea, since I used that voice when I met the king and queen of the Phoenix Kingdom on the night that I killed them. He pointed harder, "Yes! Hear that?! It's him!"

I felt a hard grip around my arms as I was being pulled back, "Wait! Wait! I'm P-," I couldn't finish my sentence as the carriage door shut in my face.

Shit. What am I supposed to do now? Die?

Surely, if they let me talk for even a bit, I could reveal who I really was. It wasn't too important now to hide who I was since this was a matter of life or death.

The horses' hooves clopping on the ground and the excessive bumps in the road that made the entire carriage bounce in the air without warning combined with the continued chants of the townspeople aggravated me.

And that's never good because that when my bloodlust starts to boil up inside of me and threaten to lash out at the nearest thousand people.

"Kill him! Kill him!" The accuser started the chants and led the angry mob. Amidst the chaos, I decided to think about the darkest chapter of my life. How did he see me? Perhaps I left the door open, since I was the last to enter the castle. Or perhaps I did shut the door, but he was passing by before I did shut the door and saw me. But I threw the cloak away and got a newer one! Besides, it didn't even look like the cloak I have on now!

{The Phoenix Town Square}

I heard everyone settle around the execution area. One of the gruff guards pulled me out of the carriage by my slender wrist. He tugged on it forcefully, "Get out," he spoke quickly and roughly. The other guard tried to pull my hood off, but I was already ahead of his grip when he tried. As I stepped up the stairs, the guard still holding my wrist tightly, I could hear everyone cheering for joy. I looked up to look at what my death would be if I were to go through with this.

A hanging.

I flinched when the host grabbed my arm forcefully once the other guard left, "Today, we witness the death of our king and queen's murderer! If only Prince Akabane were here, then that would be better. Could someone go get him? I guess the perpetrator would be grateful to live a few more seconds of life," A lucky man rushed to the castle, which wasn't too far. I sighed silently. _Great, now Karma's going to witness me. How much worse could this get? I didn't have a stable plan, just a plan that I would make up as I went, which wasn't the best plan._

In a couple of minutes, the man and ALL four of the royal people came to watch, "I got Prince Akabane, but he wanted to bring the rest of his guests,"

The host glanced over the little group, to where everyone bowed, including me, to stay undercover, "Where's the Dragon Prince? He doesn't seem to be in the group?"

I'm right here, but now's not the time. I silently signaled secretly to Karma, telling him that I had a plan. He mouthed, "Okay," and signaled a thumbs-up to me without anyone noticing. Prince Chiba answered, "He's out on a walk,"

"Oh well, he doesn't get to see the fun," Actually, I'm part of the "fun", and my form of fun would include knives, but I said that only in my mind. The host continued, "Let's begin! Prince Akabane, you get to witness the death of your parents' murderer!"

"Oh, that's great...," Karma acted, hinting to the king and the other two princes that it was actually me in there and that I had a plan, to which they nodded slightly to say that they understood. They probably knew, due to the cloak I was wearing.

He dragged me forcefully to the noose and wrapped my neck in thick, rough rope. He leaned his foul breathed face into mine, to which I moved my face to avoid the foul odor, "Any last words, murderer?" That last word dripped with hate.

I smiled my signature deathly smile, "Oh yes, I have lots to say, but let's get straight to the crap," I spoke in the hoarse voice which would soon change to the normal voice. I ripped the rope in half and dropped the remaining bits of the scratchy material. I tore my hood off, revealing my sky blue hair and glowing azure eyes and reverted to my original voice, "I am the Powerful Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom!" I glared at the accuser, "Perhaps you should ask for a name and appearance before you start pointing fingers,"

Everyone but the royalty gasped at my appearance. The host, most of all, "I-I'm so sorry! Prince Nagisa, please forgive us!"

I wasn't about to let them off clean. I play dirty, and this instance was no exception, "Maybe I will, maybe I wont,"

"Please!"

"I don't know. Should I? What good will it do to me, hm? If anyone knows me well enough, they know that I like things that give me an advantage in life. But I don't see anything advantages here," (Nagisa, what about saving your reputation from lowering?...) I tilted my head to the side, the wind blowing my cloak through the air, flapping it around like clothes on a clothesline on a windy day, "Really, why don't inquire the identity of the accused before you hang them? sounds awfully rude, don't you think?"

"W-We're sorry!" I smirked at how easy commoners could bend their attitude with confronted by royalty versus how they treat other commoners, "Please, forgive us!"

"After you tried to hang me and your hand was floating over the handle that drops the floor? Yeah, that's hard to forgive. Can I forgive you? Possibly and possibly not,"

I continued my taunts, Karma smirking in amusement at the show I was giving in the town square, "What good will it do if I let it off the hook? Barely any. You'll still search for the murderer. If I even so much as put on a different cloak, I could end up here again. Your knees and forehead touching the ground as I stand proudly over you? What a shame, you even sent for Prince Akabane and the rest of the royal ranks came. What will they think of your cowardice? I'm only a little boy," (Yes, cowardice is a word that you should use because cowardness isn't the right word to use in this instance).

"Please...forgive us...,"

"Look at yourself. Cowering in fear over a boy shorter than you. I guess I'll have let it slide for now since I'm on a busy schedule that is now ten minutes and five seconds behind. I don't have time for this nonsense. but remember, I'm only letting all of you off the hook once and once because I'm busy now. Next time, I won't the be the one dying or dead because of a stray dagger. Now, begone!"

Everyone scrambled away, some tripping over in fear and running too fast and scrabbling to get back up as quick as they could. Karma walked up to me as I stepped down from the heightened area, "Good job. You actually got me and I thought you were in danger until you signaled to me,"

"Haha...thanks,"

"You really fooled those people. Honestly, I never liked that host. He smells bad, doesn't take a bath but eats so much that he's got to have some money to afford simple nice-smelling soap. I saw you flinch when he got too close to your face. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine,"

"Are you sure? Your injury faring well?"

"Well, the neck part stings every now and then but the side wound seems stable. It's scabbing up and soon the scab will fall I think. I just need to give it time," King Asano seemed too interested in my injury, which worried me because I literally explained half of the problem out loud.

I laughed a lit bit, "I was actually about to tell them not to go searching for the murderer again because you-know-what. But hey, maybe some other time we can hint to them not to talk about it again. Does anyone try to ask you about you parents?"

"Occasionally,"

"Lucky, it happens most of the time when I talk to people. The first thing they say to me is something like, 'How are faring alone, you know, since your father left and your mother is dead?' It wasn't much of a problem to me in the beginning, but around the middle, I started to get really aggravated because of it. Now, it's gotten to the point of me growing cold and leaving the room in a silent temper," I glanced at King Asano, "Anyways, what do you guys even talk about?"

"Ah, Father tried to push info out of us regarding your injury. Because we didn't want that exposed to the likes of him, we narrowly avoided his questions. He might push it out of you since he stopped inquiring us, so be careful. When he wants to find out something, he'll do anything possible to figure it out, so be careful," Prince Asano whispered in my ear as I nodded.

"Well, let's get back to the castle. the commoners' town isn't where we royalty should spend most of our time at revealing secrets and whatnot," King Asano butted in. Prince Chiba nodded in agreement in the back, "Yeah, let's go,"

But I had one more question, "King Asano,"

"Hm? Yes?"

"How long are you staying?"

"Oh, not long, just a couple more hours to rest and then I'll be gone before you can say the word 'king',"

"Okay then,"

[]

 **I'VE HAD THE IDEA OF NAGISA BEING IN GRAVE DANGER AND THEN REVEALING WHO HE WAS AND THEN TAUNTING SOMEONE FROM THE BEGINNING, AND I DECIDED TO IMPLANT IT HERE. SO I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!**

 **UR BOI THAT'S PLANNING IDEAS AHEAD,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	14. The Phoenix's Tastes

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: SO I HAVEN'T BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF KARMAGISA RECENTLY SO I'VE DECIDED TO ADD SOME IN THIS CHAPTER HERE!**

[]

(Third Person POV)

King Asano was unusually cheerful despite his son's icy glares targeted directly at him. Prince Nagisa noticed the daggers coming out of his violet eyes as he glared at his father with suspicion glittering in his eyes. It had to be doing something to the king, but he still remained the same, the same cheerfulness he didn't have in the past. The bluenette knew that the king had seen how his son glared daggers into his soul, but was confused as to why the king didn't seemed a fazed even a bit.

If he were the king, he would been disturbed enough to speak up, but King Asano showed no sign of that or even contemplating on doing so. Perhaps he was used to his son giving him deathly looks that could kill if it wanted to. The Stallion Royalty line isn't exactly known for being kind and cheerful. They mostly consisted of people being cold, ruthless, and heartless. Never sadistic, but a couple of generations were merciless. One example would be the King Asano that was sitting in this very room, chatting lively with the long-banged prince, actually smiling. Perhaps he had grown out of being unrelenting.

Nagisa watched as the frost started to pattern the window slowly. Had the prince been glaring at his father for so long that the frost had already started to cover the windows? Nagisa knew Prince Asano wasn't the most forgiving prince in the world, but isn't this a bit of an overkill? Nagisa's train of thought was abruptly stopped and that startled him a bit when the king's voice boomed towards the bluenette, "So, Prince Nagisa,"

The king felt his son's icy glares find it's way to send cold chills up his spine with just one deathly look colder than outside. So cold that he worried that Prince Asano would catch a cold from the ice inside of his amethyst eyes. Despite so much clothing on him due to the cold weather outside, he still felt goosebumps crawl up his arms. But he still continued his chat with the Dragon Prince, continuing what he had started, "There are so many rumors around, don't you think?"

"Yes, in fact, they spread like a wildfire that burns through this cold, cold winter that we're facing nowadays,"

"There are some that can be brushed off like dust on your shoulders. However, there are still some that intrigue me the most,"

"Really? I consider most of them to be nonsense, honestly. Why spread a rumor when you can just ask for reliable information?"

"Most of the rumors that continue to interest me are about you, Prince Shiota,"

Nagisa stilled. No one had called him Shiota for a long time. He knew that this was getting to be really serious when the king called him by his last name, "Really? Enlighten me," Nagisa nearly stuttered, but held it back, keeping his voice as even as possible to reduce the amount of uncertainty revealing. The brown-haired king smiled.

"Most are about you killing many. I often ponder about those rumors floating around, far enough to reach the Stallion Kingdom. I'm quite impressed. If the rumors are true, you must of killed so many people for it to spread everywhere. Or," A small glint of interest sparked his violet eyes that matched his son's, "Or maybe you've killed people who were very important,"

"Wh-What makes you think such ideas?"

"Easy,"

"Evaluate for me," Nagisa slightly growled. Satisfaction spread across the king's face.

"Earlier, you evaluated how my fake story was fake. No one normal thinks like that, Prince Nagisa. You have a talent for many things, one of them being twisting ideas. I know your vocabulary is stretched further than one can possibly imagine. You can use your words to bend peoples' statements to your own advantage. Your prize? Victory. Kids often love to win, especially if there is reward. Reward or not, kids and teenagers are often drawn and lured into their desire to win over all others. It's a trait all kids lose once they have been defeated mentally and get a clean sweep of the reality. But back to your ability to twist ideas to your advantage. It's not a common skill everyone acquires or is passed down. It's something special that you can only attain by having at least one of each: a loss and a victory. I can take a guess and say that you've already been through that stage for a long time multiple times already?"

Nagisa flinched backwards. The loss, his mother. The victory, his successful attempts of assassinating. The loss, his cheerful personality. The victory, accepting lust leaking off of a special someone. In other words...

Love radiating from Karma.

He retained his cold expression. Prince Asano and Prince Chiba had already headed off to their rooms to rest since it was around 8:50 in the evening, "How would you know such a thing? Are you stalking me?"

"Says the person who knows everything about Prince Karma here,"

Nagisa flinched back again, joined by Karma's sudden memory.

 _I forgot that Nagisa knew everything about me. But how did King Asano know as well?_ Karma thought.

Before Karma could open his mouth to question the king about his knowledge of that, Nagisa asked his question for him, "How did you know that?!"

"Oh? So its true. Yes, one of the rumors say that you like to observe people a lot and take mental notes. But the rumor specifically said that you were the most interested in Prince Karma's life and you went as far as stalking to observe his daily life,"

Nagisa looked like he was on the verge of snapping, but knowing that his bloodlust wouldn't solve problems, he held it back as much as possible, "King Asano,"

"Yes?"

"It's dark out and it looks like a snowstorm is moving in. I trust that you brought nothing but your money and horse. If you don't want your horse to freeze in this storm, I suggest that you leave now while the weather is good," Prince Karma sensed a small snarl escaping the bluenette's throat. King Asano chuckled and stood, "Alright then. You are right, I can sense the storm approaching too. I guess I'll take my horse and go back home now. Thanks for reminding me of the casualties,"

"No problem," Nagisa still had the snarl rumbling from his petite throat. The king left the room, his red and white cloak waving in the air with every step he took. When he was out of earshot and out of the door, Nagisa sighed in relief, "I almost had the bloodlust get the better of me. I can't imagine what would happen if that happened...,"

The redheaded prince hugged the smaller prince in comfort, "You'll be fine, Nagisa. I'm right here, aren't I?"

Nagisa relaxed into the taller teen's arms, "Yeah, you're right," The bluenette pushed Karma away slightly and looked down slightly, "But you don't know the power of my bloodlust,"

"How bad could it be? Remember, power is just powe-,"

"Yes, but remember when Fukitsu attacked me? Prince Chiba informed me of all the power I had. And that wasn't even with my bloodlust. I can't...I just can't imagine how powerful my force would've been if Fukitsu had actually gotten control of my bloodlust. The only reason he wasn't allowed access to it was because of you-,"

"And I can do it again, Nagisa. Because of me telling you not to let him? Exactly. If I did it once, I can do it again,"

"But what if the circumstances aren't favorable? What if whatever that was controlling actually got a drop of bloodlust? I...," Nagisa held back tears and buried his face into Karma's suit, "I can't imagine what would happen to you, Karma. I-I just can't...,"

Karma fought tears as well, but once Nagisa burst into tears at the thought of him hurting Karma, the redhead couldn't hold it back anymore. One tear rolled down, then another, and soon he cried with the same force as Nagisa, burying his chin into the smaller prince's shoulder. After about one minute of the two princes crying, Karma pulled away from the hug. Tear tracks ran down his face, but no tears. Nagisa was crying out the last of his tears, still clutching Karma's suit. Desperate to change the subject, Karma lifted Nagisa's chin so that the shorter prince was facing him. He smiled and wiped the tears away, "Hey, Nagisa,"

"Yeah?"

"What tastes better to you, sweet or sour?"

"Hmm," Nagisa put his thumb on his chin and pondered about the decision, "I like sweet, like chocolate. What about you?"

"Neither,"

"What do you mean, neither? You like spicy or bitter or what?"

"Do you really want to know my favorite taste?"

"Yeah, sort of,"

Karma pushed Nagisa down onto the couch and kissed his neck. He trailed kisses up and down his neck, causing a light pink to spread across the bluenette's face. He trailed his kisses onto Nagisa's lips and stopped there, sucking on his bottom lip before biting it lightly. He opened and closed his lips in sync with Nagisa, who gave into Karma's romantic signs and kissed him back, still clutching his suit. The light kisses went from soft to passionate in a few seconds and turned into a full-on make out session. Karma fought the smaller tongue with his own dominating tongue. Nagisa tried to dominate the taller teen but failed countless times before just letting Karma dominate him fully. Karma ran his tongue everywhere, occasionally pulling back for a quick breath and a break before continuing where they left off. Karma kept pushing the Dragon Prince down into the couch until he was fully on top of him. Nagisa pulled Karma in further by pressing his free arm into the back of Karma's neck. Karma pulled back, a small string of saliva connecting to Nagisa's mouth when they finally decided to stop. Nagisa wiped it off, causing Karma to do the same.

"You know, Karma,"

"Nagisa, I already know that I'm a good kisser. Tell me something I don't know,"

"That and something else. You still haven't told me what your favorite taste was,"

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry," Karma teasingly nipped at the tip of Nagisa's ear, "My favorite taste is Nagisa. Does that answer your question?"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously,"

"Let me guess," Nagisa teased, "Nagisa tastes sweet?"

"Of course. What other taste would Nagisa be?"

"You could've just said sweet about five minutes ago,"

"But Nagisa is different kind of sweet,"

"Alright then, you got me," Nagisa looked at the frosted window pane. Wind was already howling at them to stay inside and never come out until they pass. Nagisa looked back into Karma's honey-colored eyes, "It's late. We should get to bed,"

Karma fought back a disappointed frown, "Okay,"

When Nagisa's blue hair disappeared behind his room door, Karma felt a pang in his heart combined with the rapid beating of said heart. _Don't let him go! you love him don't you?!_ His inner voice screamed and scolded at the trembling Karma. He slowly stepped back to his cold room and laid down on his side on his bed. He clutched his blanket, curling up into a warm ball. Karma bit his bottom lip.

 _ **Let me guess. Nagisa tastes sweet?**_

Karma bolted upright. He quickly changed into something more comfortable to sleep in and walked out of his cold room. He quietly opened Nagisa's door and saw the small bundle laying on the bed. Karma closed the door and mentally hissed at the immense darkness. He walked blindly over to the sleeping beauty and laid down beside him. Nagisa woke up when Karma wrapped his arms around him and pulled him towards the redhead, "Wh-What are you doing?" Nagisa whispered.

Karma rested his chin on top of Nagisa's head, burying his face into the luscious hair, "Shh, go back to sleep. I'm just cold in my room," Karma gripped Nagisa tighter, spooning him. Nagisa sighed and smiled, giving in into Karma's arms. Then he heard a rumble deep in Karma's throat. He perked up and smirked, "Karma, are you purring?"

Karma jolted in shock, "W-Was it that obvious?"

"Yes,"

Nagisa didn't have to look, but he knew that Karma was blushing in embarrassment.

(Karma's POV)

Dammit, did I seriously just purr?! Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit-

"It's cute. I like it," I stopped his sentence of "dammits" and observed Nagisa. He liked it?

"What, you want me to purr even more?" I jokingly asked.

"If you can," Nagisa's soft answer triggered a switch in my throat and I started purring more. Just for Nagisa.

 _ **I love you too, Karma.**_

Just thinking about Nagisa wanted me to purr unconsciously. His cute smile, his great personality, his protection over people he likes, everything about Nagisa made the glow in my heart warm up constantly despite this cold weather. If Nagisa smiled once, I bet it would stop this snowstorm, that's how warm it was. That's why he was so sweet.

That's why he tasted so sweet.

I cradled the petite boy into my arms and pulled him closer, nuzzling into his soft hair.

 _So soft..._ I thought as I drifted off to sleep, still spooning Nagisa.

[]

[Morning, 5:45]

(Third Person POV)

Nagisa woke up, careful not to disturb the taller, slumbering prince cradling him into his strong arms. He felt warm, like a small fire had been lit up in his heart.

Maybe too warm.

"Karma...," Nagisa tried to squeeze out of his strong grip that was hugging him like a teddy bear, "You're like a fire, goddammit. I'm burning up," Maybe that's why he was the Phoenix Prince. They both deal with fire, and fire means burning hot.

Nagisa tried over and over again to squirm out of his arms, but failing as Karma pulled him closer to his burning body. Now Nagisa really wanted to be outside, in the shivering cold, "Karma. Karma!"

Only a grunt and a crushing grip answered Nagisa. After a lot of struggling, Nagisa pulled out far enough to look at his face.

A dreamy look, that of an innocent teenager. His smooth skin was shining in the little light they had in the room. His eyes were closed almost perfectly and his mouth slightly opened and moving to the beat of his breath, but not enough to look embarrassing. Just enough for a kiss.

Nagisa shook the thought out of his head. From what they had yesterday? He'd rather have a break.

He went back to observing the face in front of him. His tousled hair was spread all over the pillow, some landing on Nagisa's hair and contrasting with his sky blue hair that the actual sky had yet to match. The hot breath worsened the condition of Nagisa's sweating and he felt the cotton fabric press against his skin. Karma didn't seem the slightest discomfort in this, probably because he wasn't awake yet.

But Nagisa was. He continued to struggle more and more, but that only tightened the grip around his waist and torso. He finally relaxed, knowing that it wouldn't help him much and tried to coax Karma into waking up, "Hey, Karma,"

A groan answered Nagisa's inner question. Yeah, he probably won't wake up for a long time. Nagisa freed a hand and pushed Karma's face backwards, "Karma, wake up!"

Finally, his eyes wavered a little and was half-opened, "Hmm? Nagisa?...,"

"Goddammit Karma, you're like an actual phoenix. You're burning me up,"

"Aw, really? Why, am I that hot that it's starting to actually affect you? I know that I'm so hot that chocolate melts too fast in my arms but I didn't know it could melt a little sugar cube like you~,"

"Even when you're half-asleep the insults trip of your tongue, huh?"

"Insults? I consider it a compliment~," Karma snuggled in closer to Nagisa, who pulled away as soon as the redhead moved in closer.

"Karma, you know I'm literally burning up, right?!"

"But who can resist such a sweet and sugary treat?~,"

"KARMA!"

Karma put one finger against the protesting lips, "Shh...you wouldn't want to wake the other princes. At this rate, you'll wake all of Latia,"

"You really know how to transition your insults and sound dreamy and calm at the same time, don't you?"

"What was that about me being dreamy?~,"

"Nothing, go back to sleep but at least stop spooning me,"

"Aww, but you know that spooning leads to-,"

"Don't even finish that statement,"

Karma chuckled, "Why do you want to pull away so bad, Na-gi-sa~?"

"You're a fricking fire, how can I stay that way?"

"Told you that you were a sugar cube. You melt so easily~,"

"Shut up and go back to sleep,"

"Aww, so harsh," Karma playfully stuck his lower lip out and pulled away from Nagisa. This action made Nagisa hiss as the cold air met his skin, "Alright, I'll sleep. I'm tired anyways...," And with that, the taller teen closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

Nagisa sat up, adjusting to the coldness of the air. He rubbed his nape, "God, my neck hurts," he stood up, his head feeling like it was going to snap and then roll off his very neck. Rubbing his eyes, he walked to his bag to check that Karma hadn't pulled anything off while he was here.

Medical supplies. Check.

Books. Check.

Extra candles. Check.

Emergency food. Check.

Water canteen. Check.

Knives. Check.

Diary...not check?

Nagisa frantically dug around his bag, but it wasn't there. He took out everything, the knives, the candles, the medical supplies, but after taking everything out, the diary was nowhere. _Would Karma take it when I wasn't looking? When? Where? How?_ He swung his head over to the sleeping prince on his bed. His chest rose and fell with every breath he took. He returned everything to the bag and pursed his lips. _I don't see why Prince Asano or Prince Chiba would want it. Come to think of it, the only people that knew about the diary that could've done it would be me and Karma. It has to be Karma. Not even Korosen-Sensei knows about my diary. Karma had to do it._

 _But where would it be? Knowing him, he'd just read it and return it. I don't think Karma would take this long to read that thin book. Maybe he forgot about it or he didn't have time to read it. Maybe he was in a hurry. But when would that be?_ Nagisa thought about possible locations the diary could be hidden as he tied his hair up into small pigtails.

Karma stirred in the bed and sat up tiredly, "I can't even sleep now since you woke me up...,"

Nagisa finished tying up his pigtails and walked towards the hunched-over prince with a cold expression plastered on his face. Karma rubbed his neck, oblivious to what Nagisa was doing as he looked down, "God, my neck...," He looked his amber eyes up to the bluenette, "Does your neck hurt too-,"

Nagisa grabbed Karma by the collar and lifted the heavy prince off of the edge of the bed, hands digging into the fabric hard enough that it could rip. Karma's eyes were filled with shock and fear as Nagisa stared daggers into Karma with those cold, azure eyes.

[]

 **SORRY TO LEAVE IT ON A CLIFFHANGER. I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE A GREAT CLIFFHANGER TO DO.**

 **TO BE HONEST, I FORGOT ABOUT THE BOOK FOR SUCH A LONG TIME, AND I WAS READING THROUGH THE STORY TO CHECK FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS AND WHATNOT, AND I SAW THIS SCENE WHERE KARMA STUFFS THE BOOK IN HIS DRAWER AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "HEY, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!" SO I'M PUTTING IT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OR MAYBE TWO, DEPENDS ON MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT WHEN WRITING THE PLOT.**

 **YOUR FORGETFUL BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	15. The Dragon's Book

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: IF YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH BLACK BUTLER AT ALL, THIS IS SORTA BASED ON THE FIRST EPISODE OF SEASON ONE. BECAUSE I'M A SUCKER FOR SUPERNATURAL THINGS LIKE THAT SO I THOUGHT ABOUT DOING SOMETHING BASED ON IT. SO IF I GET HIT WITH ANY COPYRIGHT REVIEWS, I'M TELLING YOU, I PUT THE REFERENCE HERE. RIGHT HERE. BLACK BUTLER SEASON ONE EPISODE ONE. THERE.**

 **ACTUALLY I DON'T KNOW IF IT COUNTS AS COPYRIGHT, SINCE IT'S MORE OF A DISCLAIMER.**

 **I ALSO PUT A LITTLE CLIP FROM SWORD ART ONLINE BUT THIS TIME IT'S WITH A KNIFE SINCE THEY DIDN'T HAVE GUNS BACK THEN.**

 **BY THE WAY, THIS WILL BE A PRETTY LONG CHAPTER PROBABLY BECAUSE I'M PUTTING TWO BIG PLOT IDEAS INTO ONE CHAPTER AND I WASN'T EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRST ONE AND IT'S ALREADY APPROCHING 3,000 WORDS SO BEWARE OF A LONG CHAPTER.**

 **SO, THERE ARE SOME THINGS I FEEL THAT I NEED TO ADDRESS:**

 **THESE BOOKS ARE FAKE TITLES THAT I HAVE MADE UP. ANY BOOK TITLES THAT SHARE THE BOOK TITLES IN THE STORY ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL.**

 **I'M NOT SAYING THAT ALL FRENCH PEOPLE ARE EVIL, IT'S JUST THAT HIS PARTICULAR MAN WHO DOES BAD THINGS JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE FRENCH. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST THE FRENCH, ALRIGHT?**

 **WARNINGS: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS NOT OKAY. IT'S JUST HERE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO PUT HERE. JUST REMEMBER. HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS NOT OKAY.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM. I WISH I DID, BUT I DON'T. OTHERWISE, KARMAGISA WOULD ALREADY BE HAPPENING.**

[]

[Morning, 6:00]

(Karma's POV)

"Where is it," Nagisa's voice deeply growled. I thought about what he asked, rubbing my amber eyes, "Where is what?"

Nagisa only pulled me closer to his face, tickling my face with his small, raspy breath. Anger was evident on his face, "Don't play coy with me! Where is it?!"

"I can't answer you if I don't know what you're looking for!" I reasoned with him. He clutched my suit collar tighter, "My diary,"

Then I remembered The Dragon Prince book that he was talking about. I made an "O" with my mouth and tried to confirm my guess, "You mean the leather-covered-,"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

I tried to get out of the situation, but how? I can't tell if Nagisa could see right through lies, but I hadn't even read the damn book and I really wanted to. I can't give it to him, because if I do, he'll hide it somewhere that I don't know where it is. So I decided to say something very risky to buy me some time to read it, "I-I don't know," Dammit, the stutter will give it awa-

Nagisa dropped me. "Oh. Sorry, I must of gotten confused. Forgive me,"

What? I could swear that he was lying but all anger was washed out of his face. He actually looked sorry! "Oh, it's fine...,"

"I...I must of presumed wrong. I just lost the book and, well, I guess the anger got to me. Did I scare you?"

"No, it's fine,"

"By the way, where's Itona? I haven't seen him around,"

"Oh, last I saw him was in the kitchen helping Hara cook. He might be going to cook breakfast now. I know that Nakamura is. Kataoka and Kanzaki are tending to the other two princes,"

"Okay,"

The door opened and I saw white hair poke out of the door crack, "Oh, there you are, Prince Nagisa! I thought that you'd be here," It was Itona, coming to get Nagisa. The bluenette gave the assistant a warm smile, "What is it?"

"Breakfast. The other two princes have already gone and are waiting for your arrival,"

"How long have they been sitting there?" I was worried that they were sitting there for a long time and were getting frustrated at us.

"Oh, not long, sire. In fact, they started leaving as I was searching for Prince Nagisa,"

"Good. Nagisa, you can go change out of your sleepwear,"

The Dragon Prince dipped his head and exited the room, Itona following him. Nakamura was the second to enter the room, "Breakfast, my prince,"

"Itona told me already, but thank you, Nakamura. You can wait for me outside of the room as I dress, thank you," The blonde assistant bowed and closed the door, leaving the room all to me. I threw the silk robe off and grabbed a new suit from my closet. It was a grey-ish dark green with dulled gold buttons and circular patterns with some flower patterns. My boots were shined a brilliant black the previous night. I wet my hand and ran it over my hair to smooth it slightly. I flung my wet hand around to quickly dry it and walked to the door to exit. As I was exiting, I passed the polished brass mirror hanging on my wall and looked at myself. My red hair contrasted the green suit, reminding me of the brilliant red of spider lilies and...

Roses.

 _ **It lures, attacks, and kills before you can even finish your thoughts.**_

I shook the thought out of my head and pushed the door open to greet Nakamura. Nagisa was already walking down the hall and heard my door creak open, so he turned around and approached my side.

He was dressed in the darkest blue imaginable with hints of gold. His lighter colored cloak was hanging limp around his shoulders and it hung down his short body. The golden buttons shone brilliantly in the risen sun that beat down through the windows, greeting us with it's strong and bright rays of pure light. The clothing reminded me of his mother's hair, but I perished the thought. I don't want to remember the cause of my parents' death, "Hello, Karma. You dressed fast,"

"Ah, did I? So did you,"

Nagisa closed his eyes happily and smiled warmly, enough to warm my heart up, "Come, let's walk to breakfast. I can't imagine how frustrated Prince Asano would be if we turned up late. I can imagine that his foot would get a cramp from tapping it rapidly,"

I laughed, "Yes, let's go before Asano yells at us for making him hurt his foot,"

"Sire,"

I looked over Nagisa's shoulder to see Maehara running up to me, "You have a visitor from France coming to talk business with you in exactly one hour,"

"What was his name again?"

"Antoine Hector,"

"Ah, yes. That man," I sighed. Dammit, I have to get ready for his arrival, and I haven't even eaten breakfast. All in an hour? Well, the servants are here for a reason, I guess, "Alright, Maehara, remember this. Are you ready?"

"I've been ready ever since the day I decided to work here, sir!"

"Since he's French, we'll have to prepare French styled pastries. Let me think...right! Tall Hara to prepare some blancmange, baked pears, and almond milk flan if she has any time. Dust the sitting room and polish the table on which the trays of pastries will sit on. I told him that all four princes would be here on the time that he would arrive and meet me at the castle through the owls, so he should be expecting us. Dust the furniture and polish the table before Hara sets the treats down, lest the dust collects onto the food, and we both know that that's not the best thing to serve a guest. Afterwards, join Isogai by the door and await his arrival. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" And with that, the light brown-haired servant rushed to meet Hara in the kitchen, who had finished washing the dirty dishes and was awaiting orders. Nagisa and I continued walking down the hall to the dining rooms alongside their servants.

[]

{Dining Room}

"About time," Asano growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh shut up, Prince Asano. You probably got Kanzaki to get you ten chocolate cakes last night before going to bed, so stop exaggerating your hunger," Nagisa snapped back at the strawberry blonde prince.

"Actually it was eleven...,"

"What?" I didn't know that Asano got Kanzaki to deliver him eleven cakes. Was he running her ragged?

"Don't worry, Kanzaki told me that she was fine. I only send her once every fifteen minutes or so, so she's not too tired during each run,"

I sighed in relief and sat down to eat. Prince Chiba and Asano dug straight into their food while Nagisa picked at his food before choosing to eat a piece of white bread. I dug into the fish.

After breakfast, we stood and proceeded to exit the room. Asano put his hands behind his head, the exact position that I was doing, "So, Prince Karma,"

"Yeah?"

"Any special occasions for today?"

"Pfft, just some useless French apathetic trying to leech money out of my system," (Yes, apathetic is a word. It means someone who doesn't care at all, basically)

"Really? what are you going to do? Give him the money?" Prince Chiba seemed concerned. I smirked.

"You'll see. All of you will see,"

Maehara was already standing by the huge wooden gates, so that must mean that the sitting room was dusted and prepared. I smelled a sweet smelling scent wafting from the kitchen, so the goods must be baking or done baking. Hinano brought out the first tray shortly: blancmange. A pretty, white, rose shaped sweet.

Roses.

No! Stop it with the rose thing! It was once, just once!

But why were roses appearing everywhere?

Not now, not now, not now. Now is the time for being civilized, not going crazy.

Hinano entered the room, carrying the cold treat into the sitting room and placing it down in the middle of the table. She then rushed back to the kitchen downstairs, ready to serve the next snack. We entered the room and sat down in our desired seats. Nagisa and I sat down on a flower patterned, two person couch. Prince Chiba took an individual chair with the same pattern while Asano took the right side of the other two person couch. The stool and one person chair were left. The one person chair would be for Antoine, the closest one to me and Prince Asano, while the stool would be left empty.

Nagisa laid back into the couch, "Karma, you think we'll be putting up a fight?"

"No, we are not punching our guests,"

"No, like a verbal fight,"

"Oh, yeah, yell all you want. But be sure it's for a reasonable reason, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Nagisa cracked his knuckles while smirking, which honestly scared me just a tad bit.

I heard the doors open and the wind burst through the door way before it was cut off by the slam of the heavy wooden planks. I heard heavy boots hit the polished floor and the rustle of thick clothing, "Damn storm...," A heavy French accent dripped off the French words. Great, time to use my French skills to use, and so would the others. I knew that they took French lessons because every prince was required to have one.

Isogai opened the door to the sitting room, "Mr. Hector, the four princes of Latia," Isogai spoke in fluent French, which was impressive, but he probably listened to my French lessons through the door. He does learn faster than I do, so it would make sense compared to my bad French. Antoine entered the room, and let me tell you, he wasn't the prettiest sight.

He was overweight a tad bit, but enough that the buttons on his shirt would pop off if he ate anymore. He white and grey hair wasn't neatly combed, but rather messy and untidy, sticking slightly in all different directions. His surprisingly clean suit was a boring black and white, but there wasn't much to expect from a man like him. His face was wrinkled in all sorts of places, making him look in his mid sixties or seventies, "All four princes, eh? I expected experienced men, but I get amateur-ish kids? I'm here to bargain, not babysit, you know," He spoke in French, so Nagisa reverted from Japanese to French.

Nagisa's eye twitched as he snarled, "Who are you calling amateurs?! From what I know, we could beat you to a pulp if we so wish,"

"Nagisa, I told you. We're not-," Nagisa cut me off.

"Punching our guests, I know, I know. But I wasn't born yesterday. This man won't just be a come and go type of person,"

"Actually, seeing the conditions and people I have to talk to, it might as well be a come and go situation. I'm here to bargain, not babysit," Antoine snapped back.

"If anyone's a baby-ish idiot here, it's you. Not even Prince Asano can match your attitude," Nagisa snapped back with a force stronger than his last one.

"Hey!" Prince Asano yelled.

I sighed and motioned for the man to sit down. He flumped down with a long sigh and ate one of the baked pears that came in while we were waiting for Mr. Hector. I fought back an eye twitch at his rude eating behavior and asked him, "So what are you here for?"

"Money, what else? Your treats are delicious, but your French is bad, so work on it,"

I pursed my lips but fought back the insults that were going to spill out of his mouth but kept a straight face, "How much do you need?"

"Five million pounds,"

I gawked at him, "What do you need that type of money for?!"

"Just gimme the five million pounds and I'll be out,"

"Tell me why you need five million pounds. Five million pounds doesn't just appear out of nowhere, jackass!"

He sat up straight at the sound of my cuss word, "What did you just call me?"

"A jackass. What, you mad? That's probably because you know that you are! Who just casually asks a prince for five million pounds?! I don't need to give you the money and I don't have to give that money if I don't want to,"

"Why you...," He raised a fist to punch me, but something pale caught his big, disgusting hand and threw it to the ground.

Nagisa.

The bluenette pinned the larger man to the ground by pressing his left shoulder onto the ground and raising his hand into the air and pulling it as far as possible, "Attack anyone here and I will dislocate your arm," He looked to me with those glowing eyes, "I told you that he wouldn't be your typical come and go type of person,"

"Stupid little brat!" the man flipped over and pushed Nagisa off of him. Nagisa flipped into a backflip and stood up straight, "Look, I don't feel like fighting an old, senile man. Sit down and be a good boy,"

"Who are you to-,"

Nagisa appeared out of nowhere and pushed the fat man back into the chair and shoved an almond milk flan into his mouth with a napkin, "Sit down, eat your food, shut up, and be good. If you aren't a little boy, then be a man. I don't think hurting princes of a foreign land will raise your nasty reputation any higher," Hate coated his words, "So tell us, good sir. Why are you in need of five million pounds?"

"Good luck trying to get that information off of me, little brat," The Frenchman tried to punch Nagisa. Nagisa diverted his punch to the left and flipped him towards the ground, "Don't ruin the pastries. Honestly, do you have no heart?"

"Damn brat," He tried another punch, which Nagisa took on purpose to fool the fat fool. He laid on the ground, curling into a ball. When Antoine readied another punch high in the air, Nagisa bucked him backwards and took his hair. He flung him around before kneeing him into the wall, "Didn't I tell you not to go around punching kids? Really, do you have no shame?"

"That's enough! Both of you, sit down," Prince Chiba raised his voice over all others. Nagisa obediently sat down next to me, a snarl ready to escape his throat while Antoine rubbed his sore bruises, "If I tell you why I need five million pounds, will the little bluehair stop throwing me around. Seriously kid, respect the elders,"

Nagisa stood as he snarled, but I held him down with one arm, "Nagisa, it's fine," He pursed his lips and reluctantly sat down, fists still clenched. I spoke, "Of course, just tell us honestly and truthfully,"

"It's for upgrading our buildings and trafficking,"

"Trafficking what?"

"That's a secret,"

"You're trafficking humans, aren't you?"

The Frenchman looked Nagisa with wide eyes, "H-How did you-,"

"How did I know? Easy, you hesitated. If you were trafficking anything else, you wouldn't hesitate as much as you did. Besides, who uses the word 'trafficking' for anything other than humans? Honestly, Mr. Hector, you are despicable in two ways. One, you're an idiot for revealing things like that in such an obvious way and two for human trafficking. That's just cruel,"

Nagisa held both of his palms upwards and tilted his head to the left, "So there isn't any reason to give you more than enough to upgrade your buildings. But considering your simple French designs, it should only take a couple thousand pounds. even with that much, you can't buy a human since you'll be outbid in a heartbeat. But don't even traffic human in the first place. It's bad,"

"What's your place to decide my future for me?! I'll kill you!"

Nagisa shaded his eyes, "Kill, huh? tell me, Mr. Hector," Oh shit, Nagisa snapped.

He looked up with deathly glowing azure eyes, "How many people have you actually killed?"

"What's with your look, you crazy bastard?!"

"Wat's your place to call me a crazy bastard? Don't you know who I am?!" Nagisa drew a small but sharp and lethal dagger from his cloak, "I'm The Powerful Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom, Slayer of Thousands! And you dare insult me?" He withdrew his dagger and savored the paralyzed face in front of him.

"Th-The Prince Nagisa?" He trembled at the very name.

"So I'm known and feared in France? Good, time to hit all of Europe then,"

The man cleared his throat, "Where's your damn bathroom anyways?"

"Down the left hall and the second door to the right,"

"Okay," He stood up, but didn't go to the hall. Nagisa and I noticed this and decided to investigate, "Wait here, you two. I think the fat man got lost,"

"Alright, take your sweet time dealing the last blow to him, Prince Nagisa," Prince Asano smirked. Nagisa nodded in agreement and followed me out the door as silently as possible so that Antoine wouldn't suspect us. Nagisa and I pressed our backs to the wall when we reached the room Mr. Hector was in.

My damn bedroom.

"Where's the vial supposed to be? Damn it, they never specified which bedroom. Why does a kid need all these bedrooms anyways?" The Frenchman grumbled while ruffling through the blankets and drawers.

Then he placed a hand on the drawer where the book was and began to pull it open. Thankfully, I put the book in the back of the drawer so I threw a rock I found on the floor. I hit the back of his head and he turned around, expecting to find someone, "Who's there?"

I saw Nagisa crawl silently to the back of the room, avoiding Antoine's glare as he spun around the room. The bluenette reached the far corner, where Mr. Hector had his back to. Nagisa clicked his tongue and the Frenchman spun around to the sound of his tongue. He let out a sound of shock as Nagisa tilted his head so far that it looked like it would snap, but it didn't, "I believe you lost your way,"

"H-How did you get th-there?! I sw-swore I s-saw no one there!" Antoine gulped and stuttered. He shook even more once Nagisa walked towards him in the most threatening manner. His boots clomped on the wooden floor and loud as possible and the aura radiating from him was enough to suffocate people for miles. I decided that this was my cue to appear from the door so I jumped out as fast as I could and walked in the same manner as the blue-haired prince. He swung around and saw me stride towards him, "Wh-Where did y-you come fr-from?!"

"The door. I believe that you've heard of one, since you walked through one snooping around for this 'vial'," When we both got one foot close to him, he turned tail and ran out of the door. When he was out of earshot, Nagisa and I laughed, "That was great! Did he think we were ghosts or something? His face looked paler than paper!"

"Most likely. Hey, let's follow him. Teach him a valuable lesson," Nagisa smirked.

"Which lesson shall we teach the fat man?"

"Never snoop around the Phoenix Castle," We nodded in agreement and set out to torture his life in punishment for what he tried to do.

His next stop was the kitchen, where Hinano and Hara were discussing the lunch menu. He burst into the kitchen, startling the two, "What are you doing in here?! Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm running away from those two demons following me! What do you think?!"

We burst through the door and Antoine pointed a fat finger at us, "Those two demons! Help me!" He rushed behind Hara, who whacked him on the head with a rolling pin, "Those so-called demons are the two finest princes of Latia for your information! Now you've disrespected the young masters greatly! I'll have you know that they don't take unkind words from guests lightly!"

Mr. Hector growled in disagreement and grabbed a knife that Hinano was polishing. He brandished the silver knife towards Nagisa and I, "Take one step closer to me and-and I'll...,"

"You'll do what?" Nagisa stepped towards the shivering man, "Tell me. What will you do?"

Antoine only answered by throwing the knife at Nagisa. As the bluenette was walking, he caught the knife mid-air with his index and middle finger before it came into contact with his skin. He stopped walking and flipped the knife into the air, holding the handle. He stabbed the nearby cutting board, creating a small slit in the durable wood. He pulled the knife out of the wood and turned towards the Frenchman, who was shivering in shock even more. Nagisa smiled, "Yeah, you really shouldn't be pointing this at people," He handed it back to the orange-haired servants who was still holding the rag that she was polishing the knife with. He turned to Mr. Hector, who was shaking more than possible. He stuck out an index finger that pointed to the door, "I believe the exit is that way,"

He ran out of the kitchen and blindly ran into the dining room, frantically hiding behind my chair. I walked into the room and looked around. I saw the sweating man behind my chair and walked fiercely towards the chair before stopping three feet in front of it, "I believe that's my seat. Your seat is in the carriage waiting at the border of Latia, good sir,"

I could hear him gulp louder than normal, so I took one more step towards his direction to see how he would react. When the boot came into contact with the ground, he scrambled up and tried to run out of the room. But because of the sudden balance shift, he tripped over a chair leg too hard and rolled over to the side, hugging his sore leg. Nagisa was leaning on the door frame, "Hey, I'm not holding this door open forever, you know,"

The injured man got up as quick as possible and ran through the doorway, passing a cross-armed and smirking Nagisa.

(Nagisa's POV)

Pfft, the look on his disgustingly fat face was priceless.

If he didn't look so pitiful and ugly, I probably would've burned the memory into my brain. I tipped my head towards the direction Mr. Hector ran in, "Hey Karma, wanna keep tormenting him?"

"You already know my answer, Nagisa,"

I led the way out as Karma followed me close behind me. I turned around, "You think he broke his ankle or twisted it?"

"No. Why you ask?"

"He's limping around like he does,"

"Weakling," I rolled my eyes, "So, what's next on the torturing agenda?"

"Hmm, let me look," Karma pretended to flip through a notebook and look at it, "Trap him in a cramped, dangerous place,"

"Like what?" I could only think of one place, and that wasn't the best place to be stuck in. Karma smirked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the oven?"

Yep. the oven. I guess great minds think alike, huh?

The redheaded prince followed Antoine as he ran to the bathroom. He stood up from his crouching position and sighed, "I guess the bathroom will have to do, I guess,"

"I think Prince Asano stuck a piranha in the toilet though. I don't know where he got it and how, but Kanzaki was standing around the bathroom and I asked her where Prince Asano was and she said that he was sticking a piranha in the toilet. I thought I was hallucinating, but you never know. Prince Asano could've done it somehow. He is close to the Latia Sea,"

Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed throughout the Phoenix Castle as the man ran out of the bathroom. Karma looked at me with those golden honey eyes, "That answer your statement?"

"Obviously,"

Karma rubbed his hands and his devil horns and tail began to show, "What now?"

"The oven?"

"Well, too late now. He's limping out of the castle,"

"Aww...I really wanted to give him a few burn marks...," I whined.

"Maybe next time, if someone dares to ask for five million pounds or has the guts to insult us,"

"You know something like that doesn't happen every day!"

"Then one day if it does happen! You never know what could happen, Na-gi-sa~,"

"I have mixed feelings about you saying my name like that, Karma,"

"Aww, but it's fun~,"

I chortled briefly, "Come on then. The other prince's might be wondering what happened to our guest,"

"I think they already have an idea of what might of happened," His eyes were glittered with mischief as he smirked. We walked back towards the sitting room, where all that sat there were empty trays a two patient princes sitting on red couches. Karma pointed a finger at the empty trays, "I'll take a shot in the dark, but Prince Asano, you ate all of the treats? And you put a piranha in the toilet?"

"What? They looked delicious. If you wanted one, you could've asked me to save one for you. And about the piranha, you never know when you need one,"

I crossed my arms, "Honestly, Prince Asano, you have a stomach of a dragon and the guts of an orc,"

"Is that necessarily a bad thing?"

Prince Chiba just put a hand on his forehead to signify his frustration and then looked up at Karma, "So, any other special occasions?"

"No, not really. since it's around 9:00, lunch is still cooking and it's not training time yet, so we just kind of do whatever,"

"Good, that means more cakes," Asano licked his lips. I shook my head slightly, "Not right before lunch though,"

"Would it matter? Asano does eat more than physically possible. Hell, he can eat the world if he wanted to," Karma joked.

Asano sighed and stood up, "I'm going to write a letter to my father. After that visit...I still have things I need to ask him. Meanwhile, I've heard that Hara can make a mean apple pie! I'll eat that while I'm writing. Let's hope there won't be any stains on the paper after I'm done," When Asano started to exit, Prince Chiba followed, "I'll go read some books. Nothing else for me to do, really,"

Then it was just Karma and I. The redhead ran a hand through his soft hair and smiled, showing his sharp canine fangs but the smile was too sweet to care about the sharp teeth, "I-I'm going to pick out some books from the East Library. You coming, Nagisa?"

"Sure. Not like I have anything else to do," I answered. I do still need to find the diary, but I have all year to search for it. Karma's warm smile grew wider, "Okay! Let's go then,"

(Third Person POV)

When they walked up the carpeted stairs, Nagisa stopped to look at the family portrait again. Karma saw the bluenette pause and walked back to the Dragon Prince's side. Nagisa smiled slightly, "They must of sounded like a great family, huh?"

"They were. Until you opened my eyes to the truth," Karma took Nagisa's small and slender hand in his, "Thanks,"

"For what? Murdering your parents?"

"Opening my eyes to what monsters they really were," Karma kissed the pale hand, dusting a light pink on Nagisa's small face. Nagisa took back his hand, "Alright, alright. Stop being so mushy. You know, Karma, it's like you have two completely different sides. One is sadistic and the other is mushy,"

"Which side do you like better?" Karma smirked.

"Both sides, duh," Nagisa pecked Karma's cheek, making his face as red as his hair. Karma's hair rose slightly. Nagisa chuckled, "Come on. You wanted to get some books, didn't you?"

"Uh...yeah...," Karma was on the verge on stuttering. He collected himself and led Nagisa down the main hall, passing the princes' hall and rounding the right corner. They soon reached the East Library's large, spruce doors. Karma pulled the heavy doors opened and let Nagisa in first before following him in, carefully closing the door so it doesn't create as a much of a slam.

Chiba was in one of the aisles, reading a particularly thin, crimson red book while leaning on the side of the shelf, "Hey, I know this is kind of sudden, but why does Chiba wear his bangs so long?" Karma whispered to Nagisa, who was on the other side of the library, picking out some books.

"Oh, Chiba? I actually saw him without his bangs covering his eyes once. The reason he wears them so long was because he has this intense gaze that would make others feel uncomfortable, so he grew his bangs out so that people would feel more comfortable around him without the uncomforting look," Nagisa looked at the cover of a corn silk colored book with a bored expression as he spoke.

He put the light yellow book back on the shelf and pulled out another, medium violet red colored book. He turned to me as he added the book to the collection books in his arms, "So what kind of books are you looking for, Karma?"

"Oh...I'm a fan of fantasy novels, so I'm looking for some books that I haven't read before," Karma answered with a slight quiver in his voice. Nagisa nodded and walked to another aisle to look at some more books. Karma strayed near the door, pretending to be interested in the variety of boring poetry books about the thickness of his head. But he wasn't interested in any of those books, whether it be poetry or fantasy.

No, he was interested in The Dragon Prince.

After taking two poetry books, Demise and Making Time, he made his way back to his room. Nagisa was looking at the covers of various mythology and tragedy novels and Chiba was sitting at one of the desks, reading an adventure book. Karma opened the door as little as possible to fit his slender body through and quietly slipped through the small crack. He looked up to see a panting Asano holding a letter-sized piece of paper and looking like his ran as fast as he could, "H-Hey...Pr-Prince Karma...where's th-the...aviary for...the messenger...owls?"

"It's the first room on the right when you walk back down to the main hall...,"

"Th-Thanks!" Prince Asano collected himself and ran in that direction. Karma held the two books close to his chest as he walked down the hall with purpose. even though his strides were long and prideful, him shading his eyes with his bangs and mysterious look made it seem like he couldn't decide between being happy and proud or meek and timid. Nakamura noticed this greatly as she was assisting him to his room, "Prince Karma, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm alright," He murmured. Nakamura dipped the upper part of her back with her arms stuck to her sides as the redhead closed the spruce door. He threw the books lazily onto his birch desk, which matched the desk in his study, and opened the drawer.

There it was, the leather-covered book with the imprinted text. The Dragon Prince.

(Karma's POV)

I pried open the book to page one, which was yellowed around the edges and so thin that it felt like you could melt in under the sun. I read the tiny print, which was an inked calligraphic print.

 _Day One,_

 _Father ran away today. He gave me this book, an oversized cloak, and a dagger taller than my head. I don't know why he ran away.  
_

 _Mother said he was drunk._

So the father ran away? Why?

 _Day Two,_

 _I asked Mother why Father ran away. She said that he was drunk and would come back later._

 _But I don't think he'll come back, ever._

 _Day Two,_

 _Mother has gone severely ill. The servants won't let me in her room, but I'm stronger than them._

 _I still haven't entered._

Well isn't this one messed up situation Nagisa is in. The father is gone and the mother is sick. What next?!

 _Day Three,_

 _I entered the room when the servants went to clean the rags. Mother told me to go away and never come back into the room._

 _I saw a pool of blood next to her, dripping on the floor, staining the rug red._

Jeez.

 _Day Four,_

 _Mother is getting worse. I'm scared now. Sugino isn't helping. All he talks about is this girl all the way at the Phoenix Castle that he likes._

 _I hope all of the other kingdoms aren't going through a crisis like this._

I'm glad we didn't go through a crisis like this, but I wish it did if it meant that Nagisa wouldn't have to go through this.

 _Day Five,_

 _I have to take over Mother's duties, but no one is coming to visit._

 _I went to Mother's room._

 _She's hitting her assistant._

Oh god what now?

 _Day Six,_

 _Mother's going delirious. She's calling the servants a nuisance and me a bitch and a money-sucking leech._

 _I left the room, crying in Sugino's arms._

 _Help me._

I flinched at the last two words. I wish I could've helped him, but how? I didn't even know this was happening.

 _Day Seven,_

 _One of the princes came to visit me about a runaway servant. I forgot his name, but I knew that it was a weird name. He had red hair and golden eyes. He looked kind. Maybe he could be my friend._

 _After all, it's not like I have any._

 _The runaway servant's name is Kimura. I hope he finds him._

 _He asked me who I was, so I told him my name. He was expecting my mother, so I told him the situation. But I don't think he was listening._

 _He then asked me if I knew Kimura, and I said no. So he left._

 _I guess I won't make any friends anytime soon._

I went to his castle? I don't remember...oh! So I did hear his situation, but I wasn't listening? Dammit Past Karma!

 _Day Eight,_

 _Mother's illness left her body. But it still lingers around her. I know this because if I get too close to her, I almost choke on the suffocating cloud around her._

 _Sugino says that it's just because she's feeling a bit too warm. But I know better. I know that it's the sickness._

 _Because the sickness is in me too._

[]

 **BOOM.**

 **PLOT TWIST AND CLIFFHANGER! MAN, I'M JUST ROLLING WITH THESE CLIFFHANGER, AREN'T I?**

 **SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'LL HAVE, SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO WAIT AS LONG FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS. I'LL TELL YOU GUYS WHEN THE NEXT ONE IS GOING TO BE LONG, SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY!**

 **HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!**

 **UR TALKATIVE BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	16. The Dragon's Aura

(Karma's POV)

Wait, what?

I'm so confused right now.

So Nagisa has been sick all along? Why didn't he tell us, or even me? Why keep this a secret?

Is there even a cure? Is that why he never told anyone else? Because he doesn't want to bother us with his problems? Still, he needs to tell us so we can help him!

My hands trembled as I read the next entry.

 _Day Nine,_

 _Mother's acting lively, but I know that she feels miserable on the inside._

 _She hosted a party today, and I'm forced to attend it._

 _Everyone's boring and old. There aren't any other kids my age to play with._

 _I remembered the prince's name. It was Prince Karma Akabane._

 _He didn't show up even though Mother said that she invited everyone in Latia. I guess she was giving me false hope._

 _Or maybe he just doesn't want to be my friend._

 _I guess I'm okay with rejections. But I don't know why they reject me._

 _Do I look ugly? Am I mean without even knowing it?_

 _Or do they sense the sickness in me? Maybe that's for the best._

 _This sickness eats my soul alive. It takes over me sometimes._

 _I've got a name for it, and it's the name everyone can associate it with._

 _I have to go now. Mother's getting angry._

Dammit, Nagisa, not a cliffhanger. At least he put another entry.

 _Day Ten,_

 _Bloodlust._

 _I call it bloodlust._

 _It eats my sanity too. I can't cure it._

 _I can't let it take over me. I can't vanquish it either._

 _I have to control it._

 _I have to control it._

 _I have to control it._

 _I have to control it._

 _help me..._

I mean, you're controlling it pretty well, Nagisa.

The door opened and I hid the book back in the drawer, which was still open. Nakamura's bold voice echoed in the room, "Chef Hara would like your suggestion,"

"Of what?"

"Chicken or beef?"

"Chicken sounds nice,"

"Yes, my prince,"

The blonde assistant closed the door as silent as possible and I took the leather cover out again. I flipped back to the entry that I was about to read before Nakamura interrupted my reading.

 _Day Eleven,_

 _I haven't told anyone about my bloodlust because I'm quite good at hiding it from everyone until I get really mad or I need it to intimidate others. I can't let all of it pour out because then, I can't take it back. I'd become a monster, and that's the opposite of what I want others to see me as._

 _Usually, one or two drops of it is enough. But even that feels like I could destroy the world. Now I'm scared of what will happen if I do unleash the full power of my bloodlust. I don't want anyone to die because of my carelessness._

 _My mother almost died because of my bloodlust, and I don't even know what happened._

 _Should I lock myself in a room so I don't hurt anyone? I don't know what to do anymore._

 _If I kill myself...no, I won't think of that. My mother needs me since Father left us.  
_

 _What would happen if my bloodlust leaked out too much? Would I become the monster that I wished for so long not to become?_

 _What would happen?_

Now this was getting emotional. I looked out of the window. It was only 9:45. Thirty minutes in the library and fifteen minutes here. Lunch wouldn't start until 12:00. I have time to read this book, by this evening, and then I can return it to Nagisa, somehow.

I got back to reading the next entry.

 _Day Twelve,_

 _Sugino told me that mother wanted to eat supper alone._

 _She doesn't want to be with me._

 _She probably knows._

 _She doesn't want me near her._

 _Am I becoming a monster? I don't feel my bloodlust leaking out, so what's the deal?_

 _My mother's been gone for a while now and the other servants have gone away on her command._

Is this the part where...?

 _Day Twelve, Part Two_ ,

 _Mother got poisoned. I went out, killed some people who knew it was me and not someone else. After a bit, I had also killed King and Queen Akabane._

 _I think Prince Karma saw me too._

 _Did he recognize me? Dear god, I hope not._

 _He probably hates me now, if he did know._

 _I don't know what to do. I'm hiding in one of my empty wardrobes._

 _I don't know what I'm hiding from._

I feel really bad for Nagisa. All this shit happened and he looks so sane?

 _Day Thirteen,_

 _Am I king now or not? I don't know, but everyone still refers to me as the prince even though they know that Mother is dead._

 _Is it because we don't know if my father is dead or not?_

 _Is Prince Akabane now the king?_

 _Or is he still the prince?_

 _Sugino told me that he's still a prince from what he knows._

I thought about that for a while, and everyone still calls me a prince, not the king, even though my parents are definitely dead. Do I have to marry to become king? Or what?

 _Day Fourteen,_

 _Sugino told me that Prince Karma is trying to get the townspeople to shut up about declaring war, and they misheard and thought that he was declaring war on us._

 _I have the same situation._

 _Townspeople are either too headstrong or they're deaf, because I said no._

 _Now we have to go to war. This sucks._

 _My bloodlust is boiling._

Dammit.

 _Day Fifteen,_

 _Prince Karma came over and I dressed in my brown cloak to disguise myself. I don't want him seeing my current state._

 _I haven't eaten or slept, so I'm skinnier than usual, paler than usual, and there are bags under my eyes._

 _I can't let him see me like this._

 _He declared a truce to the other kingdoms already, and I was the last one he needed to discuss the truce with._

 _So, if a prince turns fourteen, the others have to visit the birthday prince's castle and stay for a year._

 _Sounded ridiculous to me, but it was so that the war wouldn't commence. So I accepted._

 _I don't want anyone dying because of a misunderstanding._

 _He stuck out a gloved hand towards me to shake my hand. I didn't have gloves on me and my hand was no exception to the immense paleness and skinniness that happened to me._

 _I reluctantly stuck out a cold hand to shake his, but he didn't seem to care._

 _Good._

 _I can't look weak._

I read the rest of the book, which was detailing his life up until the day he was arriving at my castle and that was it. Nothing too interesting, just Sugino talking about a girl and suspicion of poisoned food and drinks.

I closed the book and looked outside. It was 10:50, so lunch still hadn't started. I stood up and walked to Nagisa's room.

He was laying on the bed, reading a light steel blue book with his blanket over his lower body. He looked over to me and a light pink dusted his cheeks, "Yes, Karma?"

"I found your book, you know, the leather cover diary?"

He put a piece of paper on the page he was reading and closed the book before setting it down on his bedside table. He walked over to me after throwing the covers off of him and taking the fragile book in his hands. He smiled lightly, "Thank you, Karma. Where was it?"

"In one of the shelves in the library when I went to go drop off my books,"

He stood on his toes to grow taller and lightly pecked my cheek. I felt the blood rush up to my cheeks, "Did you read any of it?" He was concerned about me reading.

I couldn't let him figure out that I actually had, so I lied, "No, of course not,"

He believed me. I knew this when he smiled brighter out of relief, "Thank you, again,"

"No problem. It was a pleasure seeing you smile again,"

He chuckled and closed the door.

I sighed and trudged back to my room, flopping into my chair.

It was a lot to process about Nagisa. Even though the majority of the diary was just his daily life, the first fifteen days were jampacked with interesting material.

I cursed at myself for not realizing what Nagisa was going through up until now. I decided to calm down by actually reading one of the books I had picked out for my cover-up.

[]

(Prince Chiba's POV)

I got bored of reading books and I actually felt myself being quite tired, "Hey, Kataoka?"

"Yes?"

"Is there anything to do besides read books?"

"You can talk to Miss Hayami. I've heard that she has a lot of things to talk about,"

"Where is she?"

"The next hall to the left, second room to the right,"

"Thank you,"

I walked to the room Kataoka had directed me to and lightly knocked on the door. An orange-brown haired girl answered, "Yes?"

"I heard that you had lots to talk about, and I've gotten bored of reading. I would hope that you could relieve my boredom. If you're free, of course!" I rushed the last sentence to make sure that the young lady knew that I wasn't being bossy or anything.

"Of course, you may come in,"

The room was the same as mine, but it had different furniture and a lot more paper on the desk. She ushered me to a wooden chair while she sat in a slightly taller stool, "So, is there anything in particular you'd like me to tell you about?"

I thought for a while, but came up with a question that had come to me since the day we met, "Tell me about Prince Karma. Is he always so formal?"

"No, in fact, he has to act formal when meeting others. It's hilarious how he first acted, practicing on me. You could sense him holding back the urge to spill out informal words. But after a couple of months, he managed to make it look like he was actually being formal. He usually likes to use informal language around people he's used to talking to, like me, his assistant, and Prince Nagisa. You'd be so surprised at the sudden mood change. Though, he does act different around Prince Nagisa,"

"How different?"

"Isn't it obvious? He loves Prince Nagisa. Ever since he realized that he would be coming over for a year, he's practically been jumping in his mind out of excitement. He literally had to ask me for advice and whatnot. I remember how hard he had to act to look calm and collected in front of him. It's quite funny," Miss Hayami chuckled, "He's protective over loved ones. He acts cool in front of others but in front of Prince Nagisa? Good luck, all he can do is keep a straight face and even that's hard for him. He's lost it a couple of times around Nagisa, usually kissing him passionately. It's funny to see how his face goes from pale to beet red in just a few seconds when you put the bluenette in front him. Prince Nagisa loves him back, but Prince Karma still goes red around him,"

So they're in a relationship? Has it been obvious? Jeez, if it has, then maybe my bangs are really starting to give me a disadvantage, "So, what do you know about Prince Nagisa?"

"Plenty. What part of him are you most interested in knowing?"

"Why is he so mysterious?"

"He has a lot of secrets. If he so much as let out a hint of one of them, more than one will spill out about him. That's why he needs to keep a low profile. But there's one secret only a few people know about him,"

"Do you know it?"

"No, sadly, but he only tells this through two forms,"

"Which are...?"

"Him telling you directly, which may never happen, and his diary,"

"His diary?"

"Yes, but it has been missing for a while. He may have found it now, I'm not sure,"

[]

 **I JUST WANTED TO END THE CHAPTER HERE SO I CAN GET TO THE JUICY FIGHTING BITS SINCE THERE'S NOT MUCH ROOM HERE.**

 **UR FIGHTING BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	17. The Phoenix's Power

(Karma's POV)

I finished book after book after book until I didn't feel like reading. Nagisa felt the same, so we decided that we could go visit Korosen-Sensei and train with him, maybe.

I had gotten Nakamura and Itona to inform the others about our departure and we set out, disguised, of course.

I missed seeing those bright blue eyes even if the aura did choke me. As I pulled the dark red hood over my brighter red hair, I heard Nagisa's voice call to me, "So, you ready?"

"Ready when you are,"

We walked out, the cold winter air nipping at our noses. Nagisa and I had to round around the corner to get to the path that took us to the Latia Forest. Then the hardest part was next.

The town.

Nagisa was wearing the same cloak he had during the hanging, and since he was revealed wearing the same cloak, it would be hard to blend himself in the town. I didn't wear my cloak on that day, so I was safe.

Luckily, no one recognized us. Even if they did, they didn't expose us. We got across the town safely and we were outside of the kingdom in about thirty minutes.

The forest was the scariest part, since there could be other Werewolf Descendants lurking. But those were the least of our problems, since wolves were swarming everywhere.

We narrowly avoided a couple of packs, only getting small scratches that weren't much of a problem. No bites, just light scratches. We got to the cabin, where Korosen-Sensei was painting. He looked up and put down his pencil, "Oh, hello! What brings you here?"

"Boredom," Nagisa answered as he flopped down on the couch. The taller male stood up and bowed slightly, "Well, there's not much for you to do here,"

"Well, we can train, if you're free. Of course, I'll let you finish your drawing first,"

"Oh, I'm far from done. We can train now, if you'd like. Prince Karma, I trust that you already have some sort of weapon?"

"Yeah, a dagger," I pulled out my sharp dagger which was the bigger than the length of my hand. It had a fiery imprint on the blade and I loved it dearly because it was the first thing I bought. Korosen-Sensei smiled, "Alright then, let's go,"

After about thirty minutes of us trying to attack the brunette and failing, we retreated back to the spruce cabin, laying on the couches, panting.

Korosen-Sensei didn't seem fazed at all. In fact, he looked a lot more cheerful than he was before we fought, "I've gotten inspired by the way you two fight. I might make a drawing of our fight. I bet it'll be great because our little training session was great," He smiled at us.

Nagisa looked out of the window, "11:35. It's almost time for lunch. If we run, we'll make it,"

"Thank you, Korosen-Sensei, for training with us,"I said as we were leaving.

"You two may come anytime you like!"

The forest trip was alright, since there were fewer wolves trying to eat us alive. The town trip though, it felt like a nightmare.

I could sense people glaring at us, whispering to others that we were suspicious foreigners. When a lady said that we were foreigners that would come assassinate Prince Akabane, I had to hold back a chortle. One, Prince Akabane seems too, formal. I don't like it all too much. Two, only one of us is a foreigner to the Phoenix Kingdom and three, the foreigner here doesn't want to kill me.

I was tempted to pull my hood off to show everyone who they were calling notorious and suspicious foreigners, but I couldn't. Mainly because I can't do that unless we're in danger.

I felt a tug on the base of my hood. I whipped around, tugging at Nagisa's arm to tell him to wait. We faced the person that pulled at my hood, "What do you want?" I asked in a different, deeper voice.

"What's your business here, walking towards the Phoenix Castle?"

"We're visitors, here to visit," Nagisa's words dripped with scorn. The man put a hand on his hip, "You know it's bad luck to visit the Phoenix Castle. Haven't you heard the rumors surrounding Prince Akabane? They say that he's a powerful prince,"

"So? We are special visitors, not fighters ready to kill," I spoke up.

He grabbed my cloak collar, "Who are you to suggest that I'm an idiot? I'm only here to tell you that visiting the Phoenix Prince at this hour isn't the greatest idea,"

"So? we are here to talk, not fight. So let me go and we'll happily be on our way,"

"And face that treacherous prince? Nah, I'd rather kill you off before you experience torture,"

"Kill me off, huh? Like you've ever done that," I struggled, but his grip on my clothing was too strong for me to resist.

Still holding onto my cloak, the man sighed, "Yeah, you're right. I won't have to kill you, since that prince isn't anything but a weak mouse who depends too much on others. He couldn't do much to you two anyways,"

That angered me. Who is he to call me a weak mouse?! I'll only be a weak mouse if you get beaten by something that weak, and even then, I'll still be the lion out here. I tore my hood off, revealing my bright crimson hair and kicked myself off of the stronger man, propelling my body off of his chest. He gasped at my presence, but he apparently doesn't have any respect for royalty or he's new to the town because he charged at me like an angry bull. I leapt to the side and performed an axe kick against the man, who was on all fours, wondering where I was.

He slammed to the ground. The people around us looked in astonishment. I thought they were surprised at my presence but it was actually because the man resisted the kick and got up, staggering around like a drunk fool, "Y-You...,"

He charged at me again, but I dropped down and kicked him into the air, flipping him over me. I leapt up from the ground and punched the man in the chest, launching him backwards. Nagisa was standing frozen at the side.

I looked down at my hands, which were in front of me in a fighting stance. I felt excruciating pain on my forearms as I realized what happened.

Well shit.

[]

 **SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO START THIS NEW SERIES. I'LL STILL BE DOING THIS ONE, BUT I'LL ALSO TRY TO BALANCE THAT WITH THIS OTHER NEW SERIES.**

 **YOUR IMAGINATIVE BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	18. The Phoenix's Magic

(Nagisa's POV)

I couldn't believe what my azure eyes saw. Karma's arms and face were scattered with fiery orange feathers and the skin around the feathers were a soft red. My hood was still on, so I couldn't call him by his name, nor could I rush to his help.

Karma was aware of this and tried to rub it off and cover it under his cloak, but he was already exposed for long enough that everyone realized why he was the Phoenix Prince. He walked towards my direction in a furious, stomping rage, "Come on, let's go,"

He took my wrist from under my cloak and dragged me towards the castle. I felt some of his longer feathers brush against my arm, which signaled that he still hasn't retracted the feathers to wherever they went.

His hood was back on his head, trying to cover most of the feathers, but from my angle, I could see those bright orange feathers that were stuck to his cheek. He wasn't in his best mood, so I didn't say anything. He pulled me through the big castle foyer, then the hall, and then he went into his room. There, he took his cloak off.

Thinking he was only going to take the cloak off, I was surprised when he was buttoning his suit off. But of his quick and agile hands, he was shirtless in mere minutes. There were more feather strewn along his spine and branching out to various parts of his back.

"A-Are you...," I couldn't speak. His skin was red around the feathery parts. He shook his head, "No, they hurt an awful lot. But don't worry, they go away after a while,"

I touched his forehead, "You're burning up,"

He sighed, "Yet another side effect of the painful feathers,"

"No, you're literally burning up. My hand could catch on fire if I laid it there for too long,"

He grunted and flopped onto the bed, shirtless and sweaty. I pulled him, but he was too heavy and limp to move, "Get up, I'll give you a cold bath,"

"No...,"

"Why not?"

"I don't feel like it...," I pulled his arm with all my might, but he was resisting me on purpose.

I eventually got him off of the canopy bed and dragged his heavy body across the hall. Thankfully, I didn't have to drag him through stairs, but it was a long trip, especially with your handicap being really sick and immobile and heavy as frick.

The servants were giving me weird looks and Mimura thought I killed him and started trying to attack me with a fireplace stoke until I told him that he was really sick and showed that he was breathing. Then he started to calm down, so I resumed dragging Karma over to the nearest bath.

When I got to the door, I was too tired to continue, but I mustered up my willpower and dragged him in the bathroom, closing the door. Now I had to figure out how to get Karma's pants off without feeling weird.

Fortunately for me, Karma did the job himself and climbed into the basin, hanging his head backwards so that all you could see was his broad neck. I poured the water into his bath and at the same time, examined the bright, obvious fiery orange feathers strewn around his body.

He looked like a phoenix that was missing most of his feathers. The bright orange feathers were covering most of his back and some parts of his arms and hands. His face had smaller, down feathers and there weren't many. What scared me the most was the red forming around the feathers. They looked painful and Karma said so, "Uh, what am I supposed to do...?"

"Just, bathe the body and let me rest. At least, that's what I've been doing for the past fourteen years of my life. It works, but it's consistent pain everywhere. Don't worry about it though. I've gotten used to pain," I didn't believe it, but it would hurt more if I didn't treat it. So I went over to the cabinet to look at the assortment of herbs.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Karma squeaked out, wincing at the obvious pain emitting from his feathers. "Treating you," I replied blankly. I finally found the lavender.

[]

[Flashback, Nine Years Ago, Dragon Castle, Tutoring Session]

"Prince Nagisa, are you listening?"

"Yeah, I'm listening,"

"No, you have to listen. This is very useful in the medical world,"

"Just tell me then,"

I was getting tired from Kayano's tutoring session, but I had to listen, lest Mother gets mad at me for not paying attention. The black-haired girl spoke, "This is lavender," She held up a flowery looking herb that was light purple. (Black-haired and not green because hair dye didn't exist in the medieval ages)

She continued her herbology lesson, "It's good for relieving stress and anxiety, but it's also good for pain-relieving. Remember that, now,"

[Flashback End]

[]

I took out the premade liquid substance and slathered it over the skin. since rubbing it over the feathers wouldn't do much, I had to constantly slip my hand under the longer feathers and rub the hot skin underneath. Karma didn't move so that my job would be easier, but I knew that he was trying not to moan in relief.

His lower back had few feathers, but no red skin will be missed. Then I realized that my hand was inching closer to his naked lower quarters as I applied the liquid lavender. I quickly got the job done and washed my hand and put the jar of lavender back in the cabinet. I probably should've done it before I poured the water in the basin, but it shouldn't matter since the feathers protected most of it. I guess we'll just wait and see.

He looked like a dead rat, but I could tell that most of the pain was relieved because his face wasn't as tense as it was before I applied the lavender. I decided to ask him, "So, your feathers...,"

"They magically appear when I get overly frustrated. I can't control them yet because the only person that knew was my father but he refused to tell me the way. It's not your fault he didn't tell me because you killed him before he could, he just refused to tell me and called me a piece of shit," Karma ran a wet hand through his blood red hair, "Apparently, they're there when I get frustrated to make me look more intimidating? I don't know, but it does scare others away. But at the same time, they make people want to kill me because I'm a monster to them. But it's just my body trying to protect me,"

"Do hate the feathers?"

"If I could fly using the feathers, then I wouldn't hate them as much I as I do right now," I pressed the back of my hand against Karma's forehead, "You're still burning up,"

"I'm fine,"

"No you're not! Can't you just accept that you're sick for once?!" Karma jumped at my loud voice. His eyes widened with surprise, "Nagisa...,"

"Can't you just accept the truth and let me treat you?!" Karma jumped again. I felt like crying, but I had to get my point across," Just, let me-,"

I was interrupted when Karma sat up straight and grabbed the back of my head. He pressed his mouth onto mine.

I felt the hot skin press against mine, threatening to burn me alive. But Karma didn't seem to care as he proceeded.

It wasn't the Kiss of Death, but a sweet and light kiss. I gave into his action and let him jam his tongue into mine.

But he didn't. Surprisingly, he just stayed at the same position. After a no-tongued kiss that lasted a few seconds, he pulled back, "I'll let you treat me then," He let go of my head and relaxed back in the basin, looking paler than ever, "I have a bad fever, my muscles ache, I'm overly exhausted, the feathers are okay but still hurt just a bit where the water washed off the lavender, and I can't walk as well as I did. Happy? I could always call for the castle medic if you want,"

"No, I'll help you dry, then we'll get to your room and I'll let you sleep, okay?" I tugged on Karma's arm.

"Whatever, you're the doc," I heaved Karma out of the basin. This time, it was easier because Karma mustered up some of his energy so that I didn't have to suffer.

I got one of the servants that was conveniently walking outside of the bathroom to go get Karma some fresh clothes. Since the bathroom and Karma's bedroom were a considerably long distance away, I had to support the heavier teen up while he tried to stand up straight.

Eventually, the servant, Okuda, came back with a dark crimson clothing set and hurried away. It was pain trying to get the pant hole to get through the right legs and do the same with his boots, but we managed. The top wasn't as much of a pain. Surprisingly, the feathers weren't much trouble since they were evenly groomed down. After I was done, I helped Karma out of the bathroom.

Karma wasn't being dragged, but he looked like he was stuck in between walking and getting dragged. His head hung limp and his arm was wrapped around the back of my neck. He looked like he was dying, him sweating and face a pale red due to his fever. Imagine that, a small, petite boy trying to carry a taller, sick, and heavier teen across the main hall and through the prince's hall.

Carrying Karma to his room wasn't as much of a pain as carrying him from his room, but it still wasn't pleasant. He was constantly dropping earthwards when he got too tired. this time, he literally lost all energy from his body and brought me down with him. I struggled because his heavy, muscular arm was on my neck. I was still breathing, but I couldn't move, "Karma...get up...we're almost there...," I had said this many times even though it wasn't exactly true, but this time, we were literally outside of his door. Where were the servants when you needed them?

Then I remembered, "Prince Asano!"

The strawberry blonde trudged out of his room, but straightened up when he saw our little situation, "Oh you're back and the two lovebirds are already getting lovey dovey?" He didn't notice the feathers since the only showing ones were the smaller ones on his face, which had already begun to fade.

"Shut up and help me!" I growled at the smirking prince. He sighed and took Karma's right arm and pulled him off me. I took Karma's left arm after I steadied and regained my balance. I opened the big spruce doors and helped Karma to the bed, "I think he passed out," Prince Asano commented.

"You just now realize?" I said as we dumped the redheaded prince onto the soft mattress. Regardless of his stupidity, I thanked him and he left. I regretted thanking him since he left the door wide open, leaving poor old me to go and close it. I glanced back at the Phoenix Prince, who was soundly sleeping. the feathers on his face were gone, which was probably because they were the smaller ones that didn't take long to retract.

Magic huh? Looks like I'm not the only one that has some sort of magical thing. I can hide my blades within my cloak and he can grow feathers when he gets too agitated. Prince Asano has a large stomach similar to that of a dragon, but I wouldn't consider that magic. I was more of a greedy trait he acquired.

His face looked like a fallen angel with blood red hair. His mouth was slightly parted to breathe in more air. I missed seeing those mercury colored eyes, but it was the best for him. I would see those mesmerizing eyes again, I just had to be patient.

[]

 **YAY! I DID IT! I RELEASED THE FIRST CHAPTER OF DELINQUENT LOVE AND WROTE THIS CHAPTER!**

 **A LOT LESS DRAMATIC THAN I HOPED BUT I DON'T WANT TO IMAGINE HOW THAT WOULD GO IN COLLEGE...**

 **BUT I HAVE A LONG JOURNEY TO GO AND I'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS THERE.**

 **YOUR DRAMA-CRAVING BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	19. The Nymph's Power

(Chiba's POV)

I heard Prince Nagisa's yells earlier, but it was for Prince Asano.

After a while, I thought about the other princes and thought I should probably interact with them more since I was always lurking in the shadows.

I decided to go check on Nagisa and Karma. They both entered Karma's room, but I was still concerned about them.

Since I had already returned the books to the library and was sick and tired of reading, I decided that I could go check on them now. I edged my way off of the bed and into my boots. I pushed the door open and saw Kataoka waiting outside of the door, "Oh, hello, my prince! Where are you off to today?"

"Oh, just wanted to socialize a bit more with the other princes,"

"Okay! Would you like for me to follow you?"

"No thanks, but thank you for suggesting,"

"You're welcome, my prince!" The brunette exclaimed. I headed straight for Karma's room, suddenly confronted by the large spruce doors that laid in front of me. I knocked quietly, perhaps not loud enough for the two to hear. Itona and Nakamura were nowhere to be seen, Kataoka was waiting patiently outside my door, and Kanzaki was in the kitchen, grabbing another slice of cake for the greedy and hungry Prince Asano. I knocked again, this time, making it slightly louder than the first. No sound of life.

I creaked the door open, making a small enough crack to see what laid inside. It was a cute little scene, almost too good to be true.

Prince Nagisa laid on his knees next the bed, head resting on Prince Karma's stomach. They were both asleep, their stomach and back rising steadily to the beat of their breaths. Prince Nagisa's hair was splayed over Prince Karma's blanket, revealing the length of his hair. He looked so much like a girl, but his masculine suit balanced the formula out. Now, it was hard to tell whether or not Prince Nagisa was a boy or a girl. I wondered why the bluenette never cut his hair to justify his gender, but that wasn't mine to concern about.

I closed the door slowly, making less sound than when I opened it. It would be better to let them sleep, judging by how exhausted they looked.

[Lunch]

Lunch was a bore without the tension between Prince Karma and Prince Asano's arguments. Prince Nagisa was a joy to talk to, but without any sort of bond with the strawberry blonde prince, it was hard to make even an acquaintanceship because of the long and awkward silence between us.

I picked at the beef before placing one shredded piece in my mouth. Prince Asano attempted a third conversation, "So, where's Prince Karma and Prince Nagisa?"

"Sleeping. They look exhausted,"

"Ah. So how was your day?"

I swear, the strawberry blonde prince could hold a conversation longer than I could when I lead, "Oh, it was alright. What about you?"

"Good,"

Yup, that's how most of our flop conversations ended. I decided that I should start the conversation for once, "So, uh, what have you been doing?"

"I sent a letter to my father. I can expect his owl to come anytime soon-,"

An obnoxiously loud _thump_ hit the stained window. It wasn't enough to damage the window in any way, but it was enough to make the servants surrounding the table become concerned, "Yup, there's the owl I sent. I guess it thought that the window was open,"

Kanzaki rushed outside in the blistering wind with a coat because the window couldn't open. She retrieved the stunned bird and rushed back in, carrying the note to Prince Asano, "I'll let the owl rest in the aviary," The black-haired girl rushed out of the dining room.

I was finished with my plate, so I left the table, leaving Prince Asano to unscroll the letter and scan over the sheet. I wanted to check on Prince Karma and Prince Nagisa, so I strode over to their room to check on them.

When I entered the room, it was the same hotter temperature. I walked over to the sleeping duo. Prince Nagisa was a normal temperature, not sweaty or burning up, but Karma, where do we begin?

His hair stuck to his forehead, but I could still see part of his forehead, which shone with sweat. His breathing was heavy and forced. He looked sick, paler than he normally was.

I didn't want to use it, but I did, for the sake of Prince Karma. His fever is rising consistently and his nasal passages are closing in.

I rested the back of my hand on his forehead. I have cold hands, but that wasn't the reason why I was certain that his rising fever would heal. You see, I had this sort of power. It was a cold healing power.

With my power, I could freeze whatever that was hurting Karma.

I felt Karma's skin get colder and his breathing passages are clearing up. But he was still internally suffering.

I was confused. Why wasn't the fever curing? I cured many fevers, some even hotter than his, but why won't it heal? I tried harder, but it wouldn't do much. I stopped because if I tried harder, I would freeze his brain dead.

He was breathing fine and his sweating slowed, but maybe I have to check on him more often. I decided to stay and see if his symptoms would change.

[]

(Karma's POV)

"No, please, go away," I pleaded.

Nagisa was approaching me, skin scaly and spreading quickly over his body. His hair wasn't in the high pigtails, but long, waving sky blue hair. His pupils were slit and yellow.

I tried to run, but I couldn't move. I struggled, not wanting to make contact with a Nagisa that wasn't my Nagisa.

"Karma, you let me die," Nagisa's voice sounded distorted, so unreal.

"No, Nagisa, it's me. I wouldn't let you-,"

"You let me die!" Nagisa interrupted. I felt like crying. I didn't want to be like this.

And then Nagisa screamed in pain. I didn't want Nagisa to suffer like this, but I wanted the fake Nagisa to die. I wanted my Nagisa. The real one. The kind, little blueberry with powers that could help him defend himself. Not the gorgon that would haunt me and wrongly accuse me of betrayal.

But why was he screaming in pain? Then I saw the culprit.

It was ice, covering his body despite the fire surrounding us, "Karma! You're letting me die again!" the distorted voice was dripping in fake agony.

"No...you're not my Nagisa. I want my Nagisa,"

"I am your Nagisa! Help me!"

"No, my Nagisa wouldn't do this to me,"

"I hate you!" Those three words panged my heart, but I knew that he wasn't real. I resisted the force of his words. He's not real, he's not real. My Nagisa is somewhere else safe...

I opened my eyes, observing the clogging of my nose and seeing the darkness of my room and two people around me. Where was Nagisa?

No, no, no, Nagisa...

But then I saw that Nagisa was sleeping soundly on my abdomen and Prince Chiba was sitting in a chair next to me canopy bed, "Oh, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Hm?"

"You had a fever hotter than the fire in this room. I was just wondering if you felt okay,"

I felt a cold pang in my head, which increased with every sentence, "Why does my head feel weird?"

"Oh, I used my cold healing power. Your fever wouldn't go away, so I might've overdid it. Don't worry, you'll recover from it soon enough. Just let it rest,"

I tried to move my arm to nudge at Nagisa so my leg wouldn't numb, but my arm stung at my nerve with a cold pang similar to that of my headache. I hissed at the sudden pain. The long-banged prince added to his previous statement, "Oh, right. Because of my overuse of cold power, I put the coldness in your nerves. Just, rest, and you'll be fine in about ten minutes. If you want to get Prince Nagisa off, I can do that,"

"Is he okay?" I hoarsely hissed at the black-haired prince. He looked up at me with whatever color eyes he had. He smiled as warm as the fire, "Yes, he's breathing well and isn't sweating as bad. But if he doesn't change positions or get in a more comfortable position, his muscles will tense up and he'll wake up with more cramps than imaginable. He won't be far, just laying on your bed,"

I relaxed when the Nymph Prince laid the bluenette next to me, "I-I'll let you guys rest. I can trust that you can take care of yourself and Prince Nagisa," Prince Chiba pivoted and left the dark room, but before he left, he asked, "D-Do you want me to light a candle for you?"

"No thank you, I'll do it later. You can go, do whatever you would like to do,"

"Okay!" The black-haired prince let go of the door, letting the glorified spruce planks shut on its own. (what have I done)

I glanced at the slumbering Dragon Prince. His hair was let down and was splayed over the pillow. His face looked like a fallen angel that came to me. I couldn't help but smile when he was around. Granted, I had an interesting month with him, and those weren't the most painless, but it was fun.

I was missing thirteen years with an amazing person who was closer than I thought.

I nuzzled his forehead, which was surprisingly dry despite the sweltering heat. I wondered why the room was so hot, so I looked over at the fireplace.

It was slightly bigger than normal, and I should know because I look at it occasionally for inspiration. Back then, it was enough to look at for about a minute without burning your eyes out, but now, it felt like it would burn my eyes out.

Since I was more able than ever without the painful pang on my arms and legs, I could walk up to the fireplace and inspect it for anything suspicious. But when I started to edge off the bed, Nagisa grabbed my arm in his sleep, "Nh…,"

I bit my lip and tried to pull out of his grasp, but boy, can this little prince grip. His grasp tightened on me, "Don't...go...,"

I pulled on my arm harder to free myself, but it felt like I was about to pull my arm out of my shoulder. He was a strong little prince, and if I went any further, I would pop my arm off. So I decided that I could inspect the fireplace later, when Nagisa woke up. The fire wasn't big enough to cause even a small fire, so I was safe.

I laid back down on the crimson canopy bed and unconsciously stared at the sleeping figure next to me. His face was hypnotizing and I couldn't stop observing the beauty in front of me.

The bluenette nuzzled into my arm and slightly purred at the warmth. I saw a few fiery feathers slowly fading on the back on my hand. Maybe that was why I felt warmer than usual but the fire was physically larger than normal, so it's not just because the feathers are starting to overheat me. And it hasn't overheated me before, so it's unlikely that I would overheat because of my feathers.

I laid back down and flinched at the sweatiness of the back of my suit. I sat back up because the uncomfortable feeling was too much to handle. I looked to the nightstand next to me in search of something to entertain me or to pass the time. There wasn't much except for a small candle for light along with other components allowing the candle to light fire such as the fire steel, tinderbox, and wooden splinter.

I stuck out an arm to pull open the small drawer to fumble around and see if there's anything I can get to entertain myself for the time period that my arm in stuck. I found a couple of pebbles that were there for a while ever since I was a little kid that played with everything outside. I could do something with this, I guess.

I don't know, roll it around in my hand or something?

I decided that the two pebbles wouldn't really draw my attention that well, so I returned it to the drawer and fumbled around for something else worth the time. I found a stick (probably because of my younger years) and a small journal. I opened the small book with one hand (which was pretty hard) and flipped through the pages, looking at the calligraphic entries I inked down when I was younger.

It was a similar way of Nagisa's diary, which surprised me a lot, but then I remembered that it was the only way I could write in the book at that time.

 _Day One,_

 _I'm bored. Entertain me._

Well, I was an ass when I was younger, so it wasn't strange that I wrote that and expected an answer from a collection of paper stuck in a casing that was made of leather (AKA a book).

 _Day Two,_

 _Father said that he was going out to meet someone. Mother is going with him. Nakamura and the other servants aren't much help, surprisingly. So I'm stuck here in my room. Do I know what I want to do?_

 _Nope._

 _I need entertainment, but the servants are busy and Nakamura isn't helping much._

 _What._

 _Do._

 _I._

 _Need._

 _To._

 _Do._

God, I was an asshole.

[]

 **YEE. I DID IT.**

 **UR WRITING AUTHOR BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	20. Chapter 11-19 Bloopers

[The Dragon's Aura, Day Fourteen Entry Scene]

 _Townspeople are either deaf or too headstrong-_

WisdomPearl: "No, it's 'too headstrong' before 'deaf'! Cut!"

Karma: "But my mouth is getting dry from reading all this shit...,"

WisdomPearl: "Life sucks. Deal with it,"

Karma: "Dammit, you sound like Asano now!"

Gakuhō: "Me?"

WisdomPearl: "Goddammit, your appearance was three chapters ago! What are you doing here?!"

Gakushū: "Akabane, I will-"

Ren: "Asano, it's not worth it,"

WisdomPearl: "What the hell are you doing here?!"

[]

[The Nymph's Power, Bored Karma Scene]

The fire wasn't big enough to cause even a small fire, so I was safe.

Karma: "Hey, is the fire supposed to be burning that largely?"

{Three hours Later}

WisdomPearl: "That could've been catastrophic,"

Nagisa: "Do we need a new studio?"

WisdomPearl: "No! What makes you think that?!"

Chiba: "The floor is burnt black and collapsing under...,"

WisdomPearl: "Shit, we might have to,"

{Five Hours Later}

WisdomPearl: "Great news guys!"

Asano: "What?"

WisdomPearl: "Asano's father went to Harvard, so he can fix the studio for us! We already have a plan to not only repair the burned building, but renovate it so it's bigger!"

Gakuhō: "Yup, here they are,"

Asano: "DAD!"

{Two Days Later}

WisdomPearl: "Studio's fixed and renovated, so you can hurry your ass back,"

Karma: "wHy ArE yOu CaLlInG mE wHiLe i'M FRICKING wAtChInG ANIME?! What made you think that that was a good idea, you motherf-,"

WisdomPearl: *ends call* "Looks like production's gonna be slowed for quite some time,"

[]

[The Dragon's Teacher, Dining Room Scene]

Prince Asano leaned his chair back until it was only on two legs, "Whatever, despite how cocky Prince Karma is and how feminine Prince Nagisa can be, I think that they can manage just fine on their own. Prince Karma is a great actor since he's been acting his whole entire life, acting like he was all fine and dandy even after his parents' deaths and realizing that it was Prince Nagisa that killed him. Prince Nagisa is the exact definition of a ruthless killer, so he's good to go for at least a month. We're here because of the stupid tradition, what was the name?"

Chiba: "Frick, I forgot the name,"

Karma: *bursts out laughing*

Nagisa: "Karma, shut your goddamn mouth!"

[Take Two]

Prince Asano leaned his chair back until it was only on two legs.

Asano: *crashes down* "Karma, I goddamn swear, if you-,"

Karma: *bursts out laughing* "Oh, this is great!"

Asano: "Karma, I will strangle you!"

[]

[Backstage]

Asano: *crosses arms* "Okay, Karma,"

Karma: *sips strawberry milk* "Hm?"

Asano: "I'm tired of our petty little arguments that lead nowhere-,"

Karma: *puts strawberry milk down* "Water isn't wet,"

Asano: *rolls sleeves up* "How the f*ck is water not wet you little b-,"

Karma: "Nagisa's filming,"

Asano: "I don't f*cking care, you little dipshit-," *chases Karma*

[]

[The Phoenix's Power, Exposed Karma Cliffhanger Scene]

I looked down at my hands, which were in front of me in a fighting stance. I felt excruciating pain on my forearms as I realized what happened.

Karma: *laughs*

WisdomPearl: "Laughing isn't on the fricking script, Karma. Why the frick are you laughing all of a sudden?"

Karma: "shows arms* "I forgot to put the feathers on..." *laughs again*

WisdomPearl: "Augh...dammit...,"

[The Dragon's Teacher, Delirious Nagisa Scene]

Nagisa laughed maniacally for a little bit, "Great Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom, heir to the Great King Sugawara Akabane, he who's feared by all of the Phoenix Kingdom, eldest prince of the four kingdoms of Latia (lay-she-uh)!-,"

WisdomPearl: "Y-you don't say 'lay-she-uh'. That's for the readers so that they don't pronounce it as, 'lat-tea-uh',"

Nagisa: "Ah, got it,"

[Take Two]

Nagisa laughed maniacally for a little bit, "Great Prince Kamra-wait what?"

WisdomPearl: "Ah shit...who botched the name? Probably the script writer, who was the script writer? Oh right, Fuwa! Fuwa, why the hell is it Kamra and not Karma?!"

Fuwa: "Ah, shit. Typos,"

Karma: "How the hell did you read over that in the first take?"

Nagisa: "I don't know, I guess it looked like Karma until I had a better look at it,"

[]

[The Dragon Gone Insane, Fukitsu Starter]

I-I can't feel a thing. I can't control my body-

…

Nagisa: "Hey, Sugino...? you there? Earth to Sugino?"

Sugino: "...,"

Asano: "Did he literally fall asleep of all times?"

Chiba: "How the hell are we going to wake him up? It looks like he's going to be sleeping for a while, but we need him voicing Fukitsu right now,"

Karma: "Hey, is that Kanzaki over there?!"

Sugino: "KANZAKI?! Where?!"

WisdomPearl: *facepalms* "God...,"

Sugino: "Karma! How dare you!"

Karma: "Hey, we need Fukitsu,"

Sugino: "You could've woken me up!"

Karma: "Like you would,"

WisdomPearl: "Reshooting in five...,"

[]

[The Phoenix's Tastes, After Kiss Scene]

"My favorite taste is Nagisa. Does that answer your question?"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously,"

"Let me guess," Nagisa teased, "Nagisa tastes sweet?"

"Of course. What other taste would Nagisa be?"

"You could've just said sweet about five minutes ago-mmph!"

Nagisa: *muffled* "Karma!"

Asano: "Isn't it only one kiss? Goddammit Karma, get off of Nagisa!"

Chiba: "Words aren't going to do much. You gotta pull him off,"

WisdomPearl: "Then what are we waiting for?! We still have to continue the story but also reshoot this scene!"

[]

[The Dragon's Aura, Chiba and Hayami Scene]

"Isn't it obvious? He loves Prince Nagisa-,"

Karma: "Damn right I do,"

Nagisa: "Karma! That's not on the script!"

Karma: "Doesn't mean I can't love you~,"

Nagisa: *blushes* "Karma!"

Hayami: "Karma, stop it. I still need to speak an entire paragraph,"

Karma: "Love knows no boundaries~,"

Asano: "Well love knows schedules so get the hell off of Nagisa! We still need to reshoot this scene!"

Karma: "Fine! But I will get you in some other chapter, Nagisa~,"

Nagisa: "Okay then, if Fuwa wants to,"

Fuwa: "Damn RIGHT I do!"

Karma: "Hey, that's my line!"

WisdomPearl: "That's NO ONE's line in the script! Now get off the set, Karma!"

Karma: "Okay then~,"

[]

[The Dragon's Book, Asano Looking For Aviary Scene]

After taking two poetry books, Demise and Making Time, he made his way back to his room. Nagisa was looking at the covers of various mythology and tragedy novels and Chiba was sitting at one of the desks, reading an adventure book. Karma opened the door as little as possible to fit his slender body through and quietly slipped through the small crack. He looked up to see a panting Asano holding a letter-sized piece of paper and looking like his ran as fast as he could, "H-Hey...K-Karma-,"

Karma: "You little dipshit, it's Prince Karma, not Karma,"

Asano: "Who are you calling a dipshit?!"

Karma: "Oh, you're not only forgetful, but deaf too? You, I'm calling you a dipshit,"

Asano: "Motherf-,"

Karma: "Watch your profanity,"

Asano: "Says the bitch who said, 'dipshit',"

Karma: "Hey, I thought you were Mr. Perfect and Mr. Perfects don't cuss,"

Asano: "Where was that when I cussed all those other times?!"

Karma: "Bitch, I was giving you second chances,"

Asano: "Oh, who the f*ck needs second chances?!"

Karma: "You do apparently,"

Asano: "Motherf-,"

WisdomPearl: "Karma, Asano. That's enough. We gotta reshoot, you dipshits,"

[]

[The Phoenix's Magic, Nagisa and Asano Carry Karma Scene]

"You just now realize?" I said as we dumped the redheaded prince onto the soft mattress.

Karma: "Ow! Assano!"

Asano: "Well sorry F*ckarma. My strength too much for you?"

Karma: "You damn little bastard!"

WisdomPearl: "I really do need a raise...,"

[]

[The Phoenix's Tastes, Struggling Nagisa Scene]

"But who can resist such a sweet and sugary treat?~,"

"KARMA!"

Karma put one finger against the protesting lips, "Shh...you wouldn't want to wake the other princes. At this rate, you'll wake all of Latia,"

Karma: "you know, we don't have to be on set just to do this~,"

Nagisa: "Karma...,"

Karma: "Yes~?"

Nagisa: "We have to reshoot,"

Karma: "Aww, but just let me cuddle you for a bit more~,"

Nagisa: "KARMA!"

Karma: "Shh, you're so loud that a fictional country could hear you,"

Nagisa: *giving up*

[Take Two]

"But who can resist such a sweet and sugary treat?~,"

"KAR-EEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Nagisa: "F*ck, the microphone,"

Karma: "Hey, at least I get to cuddle you more~,"

Nagisa: "Karma, now's not exactly the time for this shit,"

Karma: "Just a few more seconds~,"

Nagisa: "Ten seconds, then we are reshooting,"

Karma: "Got it, Na-gi-sa~,"

[Take Three]

"But who can res-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Karma: "Goddammit, my ears!"

Nagisa: "Yeah, the microphones do that if you cuddle me for too long!"

Karma: *defeated sigh* "Fine...,"

[]

[The Phoenix's Magic, Karma's Bath Scene]

Thinking he was only going to take the cloak off, I was surprised when he was buttoning his suit off. But of his quick and agile hands, he was shirtless in mere minutes. There were more feather strewn along his spine and branching out to various parts of his back.

Nagisa: "...,"

Karma: "...,"

Karma: "Liking what you see?"

Nagisa: *snaps back to reality* "Wha...what?"

Karma: "Like what you see?"

Nagisa: "F*ck,"

[]

[The Stallion's Father, Gakuhō's Appearance]

"Hello, Prince Asano,"

Asano: "...,"

Asano: "Wait, this is the wrong cliffhanger, isn't it?"

WisdomPearl: "Goddammit...,"

[]

 **OKAY, SO I'M DOING THESE BLOOPERS EVERY TEN CHAPTERS, SO THE LAST BLOOPER SECTON WASN'T GOING TO BE THE ONLY ONE! I LOVED DOING THESE BLOOPERS, SO I DECIDED TO DO IT EVERY TEN CHAPTERS! I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THEM TOO!**

 **UR BLOOPER BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	21. The Phoenix Remembering Memories

(Karma's POV)

 _Day Three,_

 _Tutoring lessons sucked. Not like it was any different from any other sessions, but THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO WRITE ABOUT IN THIS DUMP OF A CASTLE._

 _Honestly, what else is there for me to do? Nakamura just likes talking about my blackmail times that people could use against me. I hate it._

 _The other servants are busy helping host parties for my parents, again. I'm not allowed to attend, but it's not like I'd like to anyways._

 _They came back early. I guess they didn't really stay there for too long. Maybe they just visited the Dragon Kingdom for a little bit. It's the only thing that seems viable. What else do they really do besides go to other kingdoms and host parties?_

 _The parties aren't even decent at all. They just invite people from around the Phoenix Kingdom and get the majority of them drunk on excessive cups of beer. They order me to sit in my room and my father threw a book at me, which I skillfully caught. He told me to write my sorrows into it. What does he think I am?_

 _I can hear many commoners singing off tune and dancing and drinking through the wall. The sound of it is disgusting. Honestly, when will this end? Can I become king sooner and tell everyone to begone? What a dream come true._

It'll end soon, Past Karma, very soon.

 _Day Four,_

 _Father told me to come to the foyer to meet someone. I reluctantly saw who it was._

 _Two people stood there. Mother introduced me to them as Princess Okano and her mother. She said that I have to marry to another country so that our bonds will grow stronger and we'll be a more formidable opponent to any opposing kingdom or country. I say otherwise._

 _I'm too young to be thinking about this. Why do I have to look for a partner now? And why does it have to be a princess from_ _Acturies? Can't I wed anyone I want?_

 _Honestly, my life sucks. Why does this have to be something I'm forced to do? I refused to walk a step closer from the entrance towards the foreigners. Why should I? I wasn't interested in the princess at all, and I would never be._

 _But alas, the protests never slipped from my mouth. I simply left and locked myself in my room. No one dares to step foot in my chambers, not even my parents, much less the princess. At least, I hoped that they informed her of the matter._

 _No, they didn't. Not one hint or word._

 _Princess Okano burst through the door, screaming about manners and politeness and whatnot. The servants within earshot quickly rushed to pull the brat away from my room to keep my condition hidden. They knew, I knew, my parents knew, but the princess didn't. So, for obvious reasons, the servants and my parents tried to pull her away from my room while I tried to escape, but it was no use. The princess was quick and agile, kicking me in the shin whenever I got close to running away. She screamed about the marriage and a healthy relationship, but I wanted none of that with her._

 _The Queen of Acturies tried to pick off the servants from her daughter, causing a great chaos. I could conclude that she wasn't aware of my condition either, confused as to what her daughter was doing wrong._

 _I felt the familiar prickles run along my spine and arms. I tried to hold them back. Eventually, I felt like it had to come out one way or the other, so I frantically looked around for a safe haven to chill in._

 _But nope, the princess was having NONE of that. Her shrill voice echoed throughout the halls, "Just where do you think you're going?!"_

 _I never felt so aggravated in my entire life. The feathers were pushing through the skin. I felt pain, but my skin already numbed so much that the pain wasn't much of a bother._

 _Unfortunately, the aggravation was too much. The feathers burst out and the chaos was immediate silence. Just a few seconds, and a piercing shriek escaped the brat's mouth, accompanied by the brat's mother's shriek._

 _I wanted to hide, but what good would that do? I panicked. There was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't kill them, not in a million years. Then war would commence and I was having none of that._

 _I fumbled around the top of my dresser, searching for something that was sort of a weapon. Combine that with stealth and I have a recipe for agreement. It wasn't the best idea, but what other option would one have?_

 _I found a shard of a broken bottle that was stained red. It came crashing down from God knows where and shattered a window. I kept one piece of it, I guess, sort of a memory of the window? I don't know, but it's definitely not just a memory item now._

 _I quickly rushed behind the princess, who was recovering from the loud, ear-piercing shriek and held the glass bit near her neck. I wasn't even touching it, lest war breaks out because I "fatally harmed" the princess of a country. I whispered, "Keep this a secret or you die,"_

 _Probably an overkill but it worked. The trembling princess dropped to her knees next to her concerned mother._

 _Damn, I wanted to kill her so badly, but I can't do that. She's still young, so she'll obviously keep the secret. It's what immature kids do. I don't think she knows the urgency of the matter, so it's best to be safe._

 _I'm running out of ink, so I best be going._

I remember that as clear as crystal. Judging by the lack of rumors around this topic before the other feather revealing incident, I can guess that she hasn't told anyone. Acturies is quite close to Latia, just on the other side of the Nymgon Mountain, so the rumors would spread to this region. But they haven't, which is good, until the latest feather incident.

I guess this is where the rumors of me being a tyrannical beast came from, when Princess Okano fainted but looked dead when she was carried out. Ever since then, my parents have tried looking for other girls that might interest me, but what they didn't know was that I swung the other way. I didn't even know until I laid eyes on Nagisa and got a good look at him.

I feel blessed.

Nagisa clung onto my arm tighter, whimpering. He must be having a nightmare.

I put the book onto the bedside table, turning it over so that I didn't lose my page. I gently caressed his soft, blue hair and lightly planted a kiss on his forehead.

His eyes fluttered open and looked up at me, still gripping my arm. I smiled brightly, "Good evening, sleeping beauty. How was your long rest?"

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Longer than I hoped,"

"What time is it?"

"Around 5:30 in the evening," I informed.

"No wonder you called me sleeping beauty,"

"Hey, I had to wake you up with a kiss on your forehead, so that justifies my statement even more,"

"What made you think that I woke up from your kiss and not from just wanting to be awake?" Nagisa smirked.

"Because you wouldn't wake up from any other means except for a true love's kiss,"

"Alright, alright, you got me," Nagisa sighed. Because of his limp grip on my arm, I swiftly pulled it out of his arms. I hissed at the hotness on my arm and the sweat that was built up coming in contact with the cooler air.

But hey, at least my arm is free. I can now move freely around, and, well, inspect the fire.

I squatted in front of the bright fire, the warm flames sputtering sparks. That was strange; it usually doesn't do that. I took a fireplace stoke that was nearby and picked at the fire. Nagisa, rubbing his eyes, asked me, "What are you doing?"

"The fire's a bit hotter than normal,"

Nagisa squatted next to me and took the fireplace stoke from my hands and picked at the burning wood. He took it out and placed it back on the stand it was originally at. He stood up, causing me to stand up with him, "What is it?"

"Black locust. It's an invasive species. Someone must of mistaken it for the normal oak. Black locust makes fires burn hot and bright, in fact, it's the best wood for a bonfire. But not a fireplace," He glanced at the fire before continuing, "But there's only a small portion of it in the fire, otherwise, the place would've burned down," (it did, but you'd know from the blooper scene earlier)

"How could one get black locust in the oak in the first place?"

"Well, someone might've mistaken the tree for oak and put it with the oak, I don't know. But it does look like black locust. I could be wrong, but that's my strongest answer,"

"Well, as long as it doesn't burn the castle down, I don't really care," I raised my arms to be behind my head, "So, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know. Dinner isn't ready yet, from the looks of it and the time, and I've gotten tired of books," He raised himself on his toes and felt my forehead, "Your fever seems better. Any pain or feathers left?"

"Just a couple of big feathers poking through the skin receding back, but overall, not much pain,"

"Oh, that's good," He sighed in relief. He smiled up at me, "I guess we could just talk then!"

"Sure, that sounds great,"

We sat back onto the vermillion bed, avoiding the sweaty part. Not like it was noticeable, but I still didn't want to sit on that part of the bed. We chatted about the funnier and more light-hearted moments of our life up until now. Our conversation was filled with joyous laughter and chuckles, combined with the commentary for the other. We narrowly avoided the darker moments of our lives with a topic change that we both agreed on.

It was good to avoid those because I felt like I had enough of being reminded of those moments.

After a while of talking about little kids being immature and stories of visitors coming to the castle with nervous faces only to frighten them with the slightest movement, dinner was set and ready.

[]

 **SORRY AGAIN FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER, BUT MY BRAIN CAN'T THINK OF ANYWHERE ELSE TO GO. AND I'M STARTING A NEW STORY (AGAIN), WHICH WON'T AFFECT MY PROGRESS ON THIS ONE, SO DON'T WORRY.**

 **THE NEW STORY WON'T EXACTLY BE RATED T, SO I WON'T INCLUDE IT HERE FOR YOU INNOCENT CINNAMON ROLLS. AND NO KARMAGISA, JUST KARUSHUU. BUT IF YOU DO COME ACROSS IT, BE WARNED FOR MATURENESS.**

 **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED X2**

 **UR BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	22. The Stallion's Power

**SORRY IF YOU GUYS WANTED MORE KARMAGISA, BUT I FELT LIKE ASANO NEEDED SOME LOVE. SO THIS CHAPTER WILL BE SORT OF SPOLTLIGHTING HIM, AT LEAST MORE THAN THE OTHER CHAPTERS.**

 **ASANO: "YESSS...,"**

 **KARMA: "OH SHUT THE F-,"**

 **NO FRENCH PEOPLE WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS. I'M NOT SAYING THAT ALL FRENCH PEOPLE ARE BAD, BUT THESE PEOPLE JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE FRENCH, OKAY? SORRY TO ALL FRENCH PEOPLE, PLEASE ACCEPT MY HUMBLEST APOLOGIES.**

 **SLIGHT VIOLENCE WARNING.**

 **[]**

{Dining Room}

(Asano's POV)

Dinner was, alright. Same old, same old-

 _Crash!_

"What the hell? Did someone drop a wok or something?!" I yelled, standing up.

Nagisa answered my question by opening the dining room door and looking out, "I don't think that's a wok, Prince Asano,"

"Well, what is it?" Prince Chiba stood up with Prince Karma and I, running over to where Nagisa was.

"What the hell?!" Prince Karma cursed under his breath, "Damn fools...sent them from France didn't they?"

"You mean Antoine Fatman Hector sent French troops all the way to Latia to get back at us for threatening him after his sealed his own doom?" I insulted the Frenchman while trying to justify my assumption. Nagisa looked back at me with glowing, azure eyes, "Yes, yes he did,"

"God, we didn't even kill him...,"Prince Karma burst through the doors, pushing everyone aside, "I'll go deal with them,"

"We're coming with you," All three of us chorused.

{Front Foyer}

"Prince Karma! W-We can't hold the door closed!" Isogai sputtered out in a desperate hurry to close the door with every pound the French made on the door. Maehara was nearly flung away but he held his ground, helping the brunette beside him.

"Open the door before they break it. There's no way that you can hold them there for long," Prince Nagisa commanded. Isogai and Maehara nodded after I agreed and closed their eyes, dashing to either side in a front flip and running off as the French burst through the opened doors, wielding a giant, wooden pole they used to try and break through the door. The door was still fully intact with a couple of dents in the middle where the pole came into contact with the door.

"There they are! The vile beasts!" The familiar, fat face of Antoine was seen at the front of the army herd. He waved a fat arm at us, ordering in French to attack us.

We stood our ground, well, except for Prince Chiba. He kicked the pole forwards, spinning it mid-air with only his feet as he propelled himself backwards from the pole. The pole was kicked a second time by Prince Chiba and launched at the majority of the armed people. The long-banged prince landed safely in front of us. Incredible strength, all of that was hidden under his cold and business-like façade.

Nagisa drew a small dagger from his boot and poised in a fighting stance as the Frenchmen that weren't knocked out or crushed by the giant pole flooded into the castle, "Maehara, Mimura, Isogai! Stance Four, Indian Bison!" I looked over at the shouting redhead who ordered three of his servants to fight. Maehara and Isogai rounded the side and began picking off the Frenchmen by the side and Mimura joined in by the front.

So much speed in the midst of chaos, Prince Karma had trained his servants well. Perhaps the work of Yada, as I recognized the stances and strategies Yada taught us. Mimura was kicked in the back with such a strong force that blood ran down his chin, but he sucked it up and whipped around, knocking out the attacker with a swift hand to his neck. Yes, very well trained servants.

Prince Chiba was having trouble trying to fend off an attacker from behind whilst trying to defend himself from a berserk attacker at the front, so Nagisa decided to take the bigger attacker and struck the Frenchman that was trying to attack the black-haired prince from behind.

None of the fighters on our side were fatally harmed, surprisingly. Mimura had quite a few cuts on his arm, Isogai was bruised all over his face and Maehara was faring well, only getting lightly brushed a couple of times and going in for the hit fewer times than the rest. Prince Chiba was using his acrobatic skills to whip around and duck behind the attackers, inching towards the larger crowd with every knock out. Prince Karma joined the fight not too long ago, kicking and beating up multiple opponents with amazing speed and agility.

Prince Nagisa was perhaps the most impressive of all. He had recently used someone's face as a launch pad to enter the middle of the stampeding army, knocking out the Frenchman that was the launchpad and spinning around, attacking whoever tried to cut him to pieces.

I was fending off three men, bigger and more muscular than I. I had been hit on the face a couple of times and my arms were growing sore and tired. I preferred the defensive side versus the others' more offensive moves. I heard Prince Karma trash talking his opponents, and his opponent now, was Antoine Hector, "Aww, really, that's sweet of you, but I think you should probably stop blaming everyone but yourself for your losses,"

"Shut the hell up you brat!"

"Gee, I always thought about who the brat was. Really, telling yourself to shut up? Do you need a therapist or something?"

"Damn prick!"

"You shouldn't be talking about yourself. Your ego already had to squeeze through the large-ass castle doors and it took a while. Oh I'm sorry, you were talking about yourself again?"

"Shut up and fight!"

"Nah, I'd rather torture your soul than just give you the pleasure of immediate escape from my words,"

"Battle you cowardly little demon!"

"I would, but it's no fun fighting against a bunch of amateurs,"

"Why you little-,"

"Oh, shut up old fat man and get your lazy fat ass and strike the first blow. Or are you so fat that you can do anything but spill all the trash you ate earlier back up? I swear, if you went on a diet, world hunger would end. But since your ego has to be the same size as your body, that's a hard goal to reach," Karma struck and slashed at the wobbly Frenchman, who narrowly dodged it.

I got too tired to fight and tried to retreat. Unlike the others, I had nothing too great, I didn't have a power energy source in me despite all of the food I ate. One of the men were knocked out by a perfect punch to the neck, but the other two were relatively hard to put down. They ran after me, "Hey! Orange-haired prick! Get back here and fight like a man!" Screamed the taller one.

I decided to play like Prince Karma and retort with, "I would, but your fighting skills don't really like you too much, so they might as well punch back at you. I would,'

"Then get back here and fight!" Yelled the shorter man.

"Nah, I'd rather save my energy for something actually worth the spit. Honestly, your breath smells disgusting. Stop talking and run away already,"

"Never!" The two Frenchmen chorused.

"What did you do before you attacked?! Maybe if you didn't drink from the same stream you pissed in, I would be more comfortable fighting you two. Go join your friend over there, lying on the floor, mouth closed and knocked out,"

"Damn brat!" The taller one cursed.

"Honestly, shut the hell up. I don't like it when you talk. I would tell you to go back to France and brush your teeth once in a while so your stench is a bit more bearable, but I don't think you two will make it,"

"What are you talking about?!" The shorter one asked with a hiss.

Yes, they would see what I'm truly capable of. Better watch out, it's not going to be a pretty sight.

(Third Person POV)

Prince Asano wiped the spittle from the corner of his mouth and stood up straight after he had a good, long rest and diverting the two attackers' attention with his words so that his power could recharge.

A strange, menacing aura fell around the strawberry blonde prince and the two men fell to their knees, sweating hard and looking petrified, "Disgusting," Asano spat as he walked towards the growing chaos. Prince Chiba swung around to look at Prince Asano, who was in a fist-to-fist fight with another man.

This time though, Asano was focused on making the Frenchman weaker so that he could beat him easily without fear.

(Nagisa's POV)

I watched from my fight as Prince Asano beat man after man. I knew about this power he had.

It was a hypnotic aura that he could use to manipulate his opponents, but because he hadn't practiced this in a while, he could only weakly control one person at a time or surround the people around him in a three foot radius with a paralyzing aura, like he did earlier. He was increasing our chance of victory and letting us run to that victory faster.

"Hey, what are you looking at?! Fight me like a man, little girl!" Damn, these Frenchmen really want a fight. When was the last time they had a fight? Right before they got to ramming the castle door?

"Damn you, I'm a guy for your information. What are you, deaf and blind? Hah, you think a princess would want to fight you? Even if one did, I'm sure you'd be defeated in a matter of seconds,"

"Why you-," Sorry old man, couldn't let you finish because I knocked you out. Maybe next time, if you have a next time.

No blood had been shed, yet. If there was any blood so far, probably Isogai biting his tongue and getting pummeled so hard that blood is leaking from the corner of his chin. Poor Isogai, he just wanted a normal-ish life.

I say yet because with every opponent, Prince Asano is close to drawing a blade from his suit belt but is stopped when someone punches him so hard that he has to fight back and use his power.

I can already feel the bloodlust boiling within me as I hold it back. No bloodlust, not now. I can't, no, I can't let it leak out, but damn this fight, it's about to go down.

I was like a river of Frenchmen. There were so many, I didn't know how many Mr. Hector Fatman brought. Damn fool, he's too weak, too sensitive. We probably should've let the piranha bite him to death. Or burn him in the oven. Or deflect the knife back at him.

I glanced over at Karma, who was struggling against a horde surrounding him. I squeezed my way towards after defeating the next man.

Prince Chiba beat me to him, picking out a half of the horde and fighting them viciously. I was surprised at how fast his reflects were.

I felt a light brush against my shoulder and I whipped around, only to find a Phoenix commoner I saw at the hanging. I looked around, scanning the lifeforms.

As I examined each person, I found that the Phoenix commoners had joined the fight. I mentally facepalmed. How couldn't they? The door was wide open, foreigners were wielding weapons and screaming, and chaos was echoing everywhere. Of course they had to fight with us.

I smiled lightly and joined the fight again. I had gotten a few bruises and cuts along with a searing pain in my stomach, but all of that was numbed by my lust for the battle. My bloodlust was boiling hotter than the sun and it could've melted the snow outside in an instance.

I held it back at much as possible, striking at the opponents and detouring the hits from our allies.

The amount of the enemies dwindled as some fled from battle and the others were knocked out unconscious. After the last man fled due to the peer pressure and immense amount of our side, we set to treating the wounds and thinking about what to do with the knocked out.

Prince Karma clapped loudly, silencing all discussion and chats, "Everyone who has been injured and is in need of medical care please stay! If not, you may proceed on with your daily life or participate in disposing the unconscious bodies to the dungeon! Okuda here will escort the you to the dungeons so that you may dump the bodies there. Don't worry about putting one in each cell; you may put however many in a cell as you prefer. Now, get to work!"

"Hey, Nagisa, y-your side...," Karma pointed.

I looked to my left and saw a trickle of blood escaping through the cut fabric. I winced as my body emphasized the pain as I realized the seriousness of the wound. I collapsed at the pain, "Hell...it hurts like hell...," I squeaked out.

Why hadn't I realized this pain earlier? Was I that focused on the battle? Or...

Did my bloodlust numb the pain for me?

That's what bloodlust does. Block out all side problems so that all you are seeing is victory in your bloody battles. I clutched my side as Karma wrapped my arm around the back of his neck and shoulders and walked to an empty space before laying me down on my back and calling for Itona to get medical supplies.

I hadn't felt such pain since the Werewolf Descendant incident. Then I realized that the Shiro wound was still there and someone had cut it open again. I winced as the cut widened with every breath, "K-K-K-Karma...,"

"Nagisa, I'm here,"

"The cut, it's growing wider...," The energy in the arm clutching my side lost all of its energy and it relaxed, allowing more blood to trickle out. I hissed at the loss of blood and Karma took his outer suit off to press it on the wound. The pain lessened by a little bit, but it was enough to make me smile, "Th-Thanks...,"

"Shh...don't talk. Rest, you'll be fine. I'll make sure of it,"

I smiled again before closing my eyes to rest. Karma kissed my forehead, "You'll be fine," He whispered before I fell asleep.

(Karma's POV)

The smile faded as Nagisa relaxed into a slumber. Damn Frenchman. Whoever did this, I hope he's in the dungeon or dead. The faint breaths of the bluenette dwindled to scarce breathing and I panicking. He was losing too much blood.

"Itona! Where's the medical supply?!"

"Sir, there's no more,"

"No more?!"

"No, my prince,"

My jaw trembled as I fought back tears. No, I had a promise to fulfill. Nagisa will survive. He WILL survive. Nothing matters now, just Nagisa.

I pressed my head to Nagisa's head, "Please...don't die on me...,"

Last time a wound this deep was made was at Korosen-Sensei's, where there was proper bandaging and treatment. I looked up at the white-haired servant with watery eyes, "Are you sure there aren't anymore?" I weakly said.

"I-I'll go check if the others have extra bandages and supplies right away, sir!" Nagisa's assistant ran off, asking others for any extra supplies that they could spare. I looked back at Nagisa, who was still scarcely breathing, "I-I promise...you'll make it. I'm going to make sure of it," I whispered again, tears trying to escape from my eyes.

Itona came back, handing me bandages, medicine, and a rag for the blood. I replaced my bloody jacket with the rag, to which the blood stained the white cloth with vermillion liquid. I treated the large cut with the medicine. When I got to the bandage wrapping, I had to remove the top parts of his clothing.

Itona helped me lift his body slowly so that I could wrap the bandages securely. When Nagisa's nose was close to my shoulder, I felt the scarce breathing beat down on me lightly. I nearly stilled, but I kept wrapped until it felt secure enough. I nodded at Itona, who carefully laid Nagisa down, "I-Is he...?"

"No, he's not dead. He's just resting," I wasn't completely lying, but he and I knew exactly what happened to Nagisa.

He was in a coma.

[]

 **I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN GET INTO A COMA JUST BY BLOOD LOSS, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THAT HE IS. BECAUSE...I NEED PLOT.**

 **UR WRITER'S BLOCKED BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	23. The Dragon's Sleep

(Karma's POV)

I held Nagisa's frail hand as he was still laid down in his massive bed. I felt the coldness of it and I held his hand to my forehead and mumbled out phrases while holding back tears and thinking about our sweet memories.

"I-I can't believe I let you get so hurt...I-I'm sorry Nagisa...I'm so, so sorry...," I heard the door open and I looked up to see that it was Prince Chiba was a plate of food, "Hey, Prince Karma...you haven't eaten in three days. We're all worried about you. You've already gotten so skinny,"

"I can't bring myself to eat," I mumbled as the long-banged prince walked toward me.

"Not even a bite?"

"Not even a bite,"

"Please, Prince Karma, at this rate, you'll die," Prince Chiba pleaded

"So?"

"Prince Nagisa isn't dead you know. He'll live, just live with us and let him rest until he wakes. Please Prince Karma, for Prince Nagisa,"

I sighed and took the plate and started to eat slowly, to tired and fatigued to eat faster.

 _Karma, sl-slow down, you're going to choke..._

Nagisa's words echoed over and over again in my head and I almost choked, remembering the warmth he gave out. It soon became too much and I stopped, placing the plate on the nearby dresser. I held my head in my hands, "I let this happen to Nagisa...," I mumbled out.

I felt a hand on my back and I looked up, seeing the strawberry blonde prince, "Prince Karma, come on, at least eat properly. If you die of hunger, Prince Nagisa won't forgive himself,"

"He's not dead," Prince Chiba joined Prince Asano, "Remember what I said earlier? Please, just don't make us have to worry about two princes. One is enough, two is too much,"

"Please,"

I looked up from my depressed position, brushing my blood red hair out from my face, "Okay, I'll eat,"

"Great," Prince Asano smiled, "Good for you, I was about to eat the rest,"

"Like you would," I joked.

"I would,"

I looked back over to Nagisa and planted a small kiss on his lips, "I'll be awaiting you, my queen," I whispered before picking up my plate and heading towards the door, "Come, let's not disturb Nagisa's slumber,"

The two princes nodded and tailed me out of the room.

(Nagisa's POV)

I was laying down on soft, green grass and looking up at a light blue sky with titanium white clouds moving slowly. I sat up slowly, observing the land than was spread out around me.

Lovely flowers decorated the floor, including blood red roses. There were sky high mountains scattered in the distance and wildlife prancing around. Birds decorated the sky in little V's. The air smelled new and crisp, like an early autumn breeze.

Wh-Where was I?

"You're with us," I looked in the direction of the sound, only to see an all-too familiar face. A woman, dressed in white, the white and flowing dress giving in to the wind. Dark navy hair that swayed lightly to the breezes. Pale skin that was mostly covered by the cloud-colored fabric.

"M-mother?"

"Yes Nagisa, I'm here,"

Tears were left in my trail as I dashed towards Queen Hiromi, encapsulating her in a hug, "I-I avenged you mother, I did it...,"

"I saw Nagisa. You did a good job, my son,"

I felt a warm feeling come from Mother as I deepened the hug. I looked up, breaking the hug, "Mother, am I dead?"

"No, my son, not quite yet,"

"Then where am I?"

"You're in limbo,"

Limbo? The part between life and death? The judging?

"Mother, when will I be judged?"

"Soon, my son, very soon. Just stay with me for a little bit, then your fate will be decided," She saw my crying face, "What's wrong Nagisa?"

"I-I want to stay here with you, b-but Karma...,"

"Ah, that charming young devil?"

"Y-Yes...,"

"I've seen the interaction between you two. You two have a very strong bond with each other,"

"B-But, I don't wanna leave you,"

"You'll see me later. When you properly die, I'll be waiting for you. Now, Karma's the one who needs you,"

"But why?"

"Without you, his life would be barren. He would be very depressed,"

She planted a tender kiss on my forehead, "For now, we'll stay and chat for a bit, and then the judging begins,"

"Can't I start now?"

"I thought you wanted to stay with me for a bit,"

"I do, but I'll see you soon, when I properly die, right?"

"Yes,"

"Karma needs me. I can feel his sadness,"

"That is correct,"

I felt a warm sensation on my lips and held my cold fingers up to it, touching that warm feeling.

 _I'll be awaiting you, my queen._

Karma.

I heard the voice echo in my head, and Mother knew, "Karma does need you Nagisa. Come, let's go to the judging," Mother starting walking forward, her back to me.

"Mother, what if I'm not worthy?"

Mother stopped, her snow white dress swaying in the wind. She turned back, her short navy hair blowing in the current of the wind, "You will, my dear. I promise,"

(Asano's POV)

Prince Karma has been looking down all the time, mostly mumbling about how it was his fault that he let Nagisa get hurt. After he starts crying, Prince chiba and I have to pat him on the back and reassure him that Nagisa will come back, and that he just needs to wait.

Prince Chiba pulled me over, out of earshot from Karma, "Prince Asano," He whispered.

"Hm?"

"It's about Prince Nagisa,"

"And?" I was scared that Nagisa was dead and that we'd have to break the truth to Karma soon.

"H-He...,"

"Blurt it out already," I hissed.

"Prince Nagisa is dying. Not dead, but it's strange because he seems to have a choice between living or dying,"

"Well duh, living! Prince Karma is having an existential crisis over there!"

"No, it's fully his choice. He's getting judged soon, and the Sword of Purity will choose whether he lives or dies,"

"Oh god, how are we going to tell Prince Karma?"

"We'll wait. If the blue-haired prince wakes, then all is good. If not and his pulse stops, well, we'll see what to do from there,"

"Okay. Is that all you want to tell me?"

"Yes,"

We walked back to the table. I observed Prince Karma's distress and felt bad for him.

Hell, if my loved one was close to dying, my reaction wouldn't be any different, "Hey, Prince Karma, you okay?"

"What do you think?" The redhead growled, making sure that I knew that I wasn't expected to answer the rhetorical question.

"We all know you're depressed over Prince Nagisa. But if you're this gloomy all day, then everyone else will be gloomy too. At least smile for us. Please?"

"What's smiling, Asano? Enlighten me, Asano. What's happiness?"

"To you, perhaps it's Prince Nagisa,"

"And he's almost gone. You think that I can smile with that happening?"

"Once?"

"No. Go away, leave me alone," The Phoenix Prince grunted. I sighed in defeat and then looked over to Prince Chiba. He also looked defeated, but he walked over to the sulking redhead, motioning for me to stand further away a bit.

"Okay, Prince Karma,"

"What do you want?"

"What does Nagisa likes?"

"Sweet things. Flowers,"

"Then maybe you can go pick some flowers for him, as a gift so that he can survive and awake,"

Prince Karma sighed and then got up from his depressed position, "Yeah, sure, I guess,"

When the redhead slammed the doors behind him, I could only stand there with my mouth agape, "H-How...? Did you actually...ha?"

"Works every time on my sister. Figured it might work with Prince Karma,"

(Karma's POV)

[Timeskip, One Hour Later]

I had picked a bouquet for Nagisa, mostly focusing on brighter colors and roses. That was how I first realized what power Nagisa had.

The roses that linked all over my castle. The desk engravings, the books, the theories, the secret garden. Roses as red as the blood he spilled.

It didn't matter to me if he had murdered in the past. All that mattered was that my heart belonged to him and his belonged to me. He was my queen, and it would stay that way until the end of time and maybe even past that.

I slowly opened the door that led to Nagisa's room and nearly dropped the flowers. My breathing grew scarce as the excitement bubbled up in me. My arms shook and my hands grew almost numb. Gears shifted in my mind but I could hardly speak. My mouth hung open and tears leaked out.

"N-Nagisa? Y-You're...," I squeaked out, barely comprehensible.

Awake. My Nagisa was awake.

I made sure to lay the bouquet on the nearby dresser before walking over to the bluenette who was sitting up, swinging his legs at the edge of the bed, "N-Nagisa...," I managed to say words that the petite figure could hear.

The bluenette's legs stopped swinging as he turned to face me, "Karma?"

Those glowing azure eyes. No one could match the beauty like Nagisa. I ran to hug the smaller boy, whimpering and sobbing into his shoulder, crying blissful tears, "Nagisa! You're actually, awake!"

"Yes Karma, I'm here. I passed the judging,"

The other two princes and servants heard my cry of pure bliss and ran over to the room. Upon seeing the Dragon Prince alive and well, they too cried happy tears, thanking god and hugging each other in relief.

After a while of Nagisa caressing my blood red hair, I decided that it was time, "N-Nagisa...," What an ugly display I was. Snot was threatening to show and tears streaked down my cheeks and my eyes were red and puffy. My hair was tousled and clothing wrinkled, but appearance didn't matter.

I pull out a small ring from my pocket, "I know it's sort of sudden, but will you become my queen?"

(Nagisa's POV)

I was shocked at the sudden proposal. Become Karma's queen? Really?

Hell yes, "I will, Karma, I will,"

Karma's cute blushing face turned from anxious to a face of pure joy as he pressed me into a bigger hug, "Yes yes yes yes yes! Thank you Nagisa!"

"For you Karma, always,"

"Until the end of time,"

"Forever,"

"And ever," We pulled each other in for a small, tender kiss.

[]

 **HGNHNNNN FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER STORY FINISHED. I FEEL PROUD OF MYSELF.**

 **SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER, I KINDA RUSHED, SORRY AGAIN.**

 **SO, UM, MY FINAL THOUGHTS...LET'S SEE.**

 **I'LL POST A KIND OF GUIDE TO SHOW YOU WHAT MY THOUGHT PROCESS WAS THROUGHT THIS LONG STORY AFTER THIS ONE PRETTY SOON.**

 **THE GUIDE HAS HELPED ME A LOT, ESPECIALLY THE ROLES AND WHATNOT.**

 **I HAVEN'T EVEN USED MOST OF THE CHARACTERS, I JUST DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO BE LEFT OUT AND STILL HAVE THE ROLES FIT THE STORYLINE SO THAT THE STORY COULD FUNCTION PROPERLY.**

 **THE GUIDE IS AN OKAY GUIDE, NOT MY BEST WORK, BUT IT SORTA SHOWS YOU WHAT THE UNIVERSE IS LIKE, YOU KNOW? I HOPE IT HELPS YOU GUYS LIKE IT HELPED ME.**

 **UR PROUDASS BOI,**

 **WISDOMPEARL**


	24. Guide to Understanding

Here's a guide to understanding some traditions and rules in The Dragon and the Phoenix Fanfiction!

 **Brackets, Parenthesis, etc.**

[insert] = Changing Time, Flashbacks

(insert) = Changing Point of View

{insert} = Changing Location

(insert) = Mid-Story Notes and Comments

 **Scene Changes**

\- = Old Scene Change Mark

[] = New Scene Change Mark

 ** _The Hiromi Truce_**

Whenever a prince turns fourteen years old, the other three princes, regardless of their age, will visit the fourteen year old prince and stay there for one year.

All tutoring sessions for the fourteen year old prince will be cancelled for the duration of the time the other princes are staying, which will be one year.

This truce is in place so that peace between the Phoenix Kingdom and Dragon Kingdom remains.

If this truce is broken, war will be declared between the two kingdoms.

 **Worded Map of Latia (fictional location)**

Bottom left = Phoenix Kingdom

Bottom right = Dragon Kingdom

Upper left = Stallion Kingdom

Upper right = Nymph Kingdom

Center = Latia Forest

Bottom = Phoegon Forest

Top = Nymlion Forest

Left = Latia Sea

Right = Nymgon Mountain

Trails connect all four kingdoms and entry points of each forest.

 **Known Royalty**

The Powerful Prince Nagisa Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom

The Great Prince Karma Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom

The Courageous Prince Chiba Ryūnosuke of the Nymph Kingdom

The Generous Prince Gakushū Asano of the Stallion Kingdom

The Intelligent King Sugawara Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom

The Witty Queen Miyumi Akabane of the Phoenix Kingdom

The Humble Queen Hiromi Shiota of the Dragon Kingdom

The Caring Princess Setsuko Ryūnosuke of the Nymph Kingdom

The Noble King Gakuhō Asano of the Stallion Kingdom

The Sweet Princess Hinata Okano of Acturies

 **Roles Other Than Royalty**

Nakamura - Phoenix Prince Assistant

Hayami - Phoenix Adviser

Hara - Phoenix Chef

Yada - Phoenix Tutor

Isogai - Phoenix Servant

Okuda - Phoenix Servant

Kataoka - Phoenix Servant

Hinano - Phoenix Servant

Kanzaki - Phoenix Servant

Okajima - Dragon Servant

Maehara - Phoenix Servant

Mimura - Phoenix Servant

Itona - Phoenix Servant

Kimura - Runaway Phoenix Servant

Sugino - Dragon Prince Assistant

Kayano - Dragon Tutor

Sugaya - Dragon Servant

Muramatsu - Dragon Servant

Kensaku - Stallion King Assistant

Ren - Stallion Prince Assistant

Terasaka - Stallion Servant

Kirara - Stallion Servant

Yoshida - Stallion Servant

Natsuhiko - Stallion Servant

Kiyoshi - Nymph King Assistant

Kaho - Nymph Queen Assistant

Shindō - Nymph Prince Assistant

Fuwa - Nymph Servant

Tomoya - Nymph Servant

Araki - Nymph Servant

Takebayashi - Nymph Servant

Tanaka - Low Rank Commoner

Takada - Low Rank Commoner

 **Titles Prince Karma Addresses to the Other Princes**

Prince Nagisa - Nagisa

Prince Asano - Asano

Prince Chiba - Prince Chiba

 **Titles Prince Nagisa Addresses to the Other Princes**

Prince Karma - Karma

Prince Asano - Prince Asano

Prince Chiba - Prince Chiba

 **Titles Prince Chiba Addresses to the Other Princes**

Prince Karma - Prince Karma

Prince Nagisa - Prince Nagisa

Prince Asano - Prince Asano

 **Titles Prince Asano Addresses to the Other Princes**

Prince Karma - Prince Karma

Prince Nagisa - Prince Nagisa

Prince Chiba - Prince Chiba

 **Titles Prince Karma Has**

Redheaded Prince

Phoenix Prince

Prince of the Phoenixes

Prince of the Phoenix Kingdom

Tallest Prince

Prince of Mischief

Prince Akabane

Prince Karma

Karma

Akabane

 **Titles Prince Nagisa Has**

Bluenette

Blue-Haired Prince

Dragon Prince

Prince of the Dragons

Prince of the Dragon Kingdom

Streak of Blue Lightning

Little Prince

Prince Nagisa

Prince Shiota

Nagisa

Shiota

 **Titles Prince Chiba Has**

Black-Haired Prince

Long-Banged Prince

Nymph Prince

Prince of the Nymphs

Prince of the Nymph Kingdom

Prince Chiba

Secluded Prince

Introverted Prince

Prince Ryūnosuke

Chiba

Ryūnosuke

 **Titles Prince Asano Has**

Strawberry Blonde

Strawberry Blonde Prince

Stallion Prince

Prince of the Stallions

Prince of the Stallion Kingdom

Prince Asano

Gakushū

Prince Gakushū

Asano

 **The Dragon Kingdom Rules**

 _Rule 1/The Golden Rule of the Dragon_

Break this rule and immediate death will be issued. (Let your guard down and you die)

 _Rule 2_

All elderly and people in need of medical help will report straight to the Dragon Castle at 2:50 in the afternoon for a medical check.

 **Ranks**

These ranks apply to all of the kingdoms.

Low Rank: Lower class, poor wage and salary, poor public education

Middle Rank: Middle class, average wage and salary, average public education and one expensive private school

High Rank: First class, royalty and their servants, private tutoring, owns money of their kingdom

 **Healing Power Types**

Only applies to those with healing powers.

Cold Healing: Cold hands, mostly introverted people, heals injuries and diseases with cold procedures

Normal Healing: Normal temperature hands, mostly ambiverted people, heals injuries and diseases with normal procedures

Hot Healing: Warmer than normal temperature hands, most extroverted people, heals injuries and diseases using hot procedures

 **Fire Power Types**

Only applies to those with fiery powers of any sort.

Blue Fire - Hottest fire temperature

Red Fire - Normal, fiery temperature

Orange Fire - Slightly cooler temperature


End file.
